Word of the Day

: March 2, 2020

perquisite

noun PER-kwuh-zut

What It Means

1 : a privilege, gain, or profit incidental to regular salary or wages; especially : one expected or promised

2 : gratuity, tip

3 : something held or claimed as an exclusive right or possession

perquisite in Context

One of the job's perquisites is use of a company car.

"American consumers want choices, employers like using health insurance as a perquisite and competition improves efficiency." — Chris Tomlinson, The Houston Chronicle, 15 Dec. 2019

Did You Know?

Looking to acquire a job loaded with perquisites, or "perks" (a synonym of perquisites)? Don't give up the search! Make plenty of inquiries, send out an exquisitely crafted resume, and follow up with queries. Your quest may result in your conquering of the job market. After all, today's word perquisite derives from Latin perquirere, which means "to search for thoroughly." That Latin word, in turn, is from the verb quaerere, meaning "to ask" or "to seek." Seven other words in this paragraph are from quaerere as well—acquire, inquiries, exquisitely, queries, conquering, quest, and, of course, perk (which was formed by shortening and altering perquisite).