noun

retrenchment

Retrenchment (noun) means a curtailment or reduction.

noun

A curtailment or reduction.

An act of reducing expenses; economizing.

An act of terminating the employment of a worker or making an employee redundant, often to reduce expenses; a layoff.

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Etymology

Probably partly from both of the following: * Middle French retrenchement, retranchement (“removal of a portion from a larger whole; reduction of expenses”) (modern French retranchement (“deduction, subtraction”)), from retrancher, retranchier (“to get rid of, remove completely; to remove a portion from a larger whole; to reduce expenses; to deprive (oneself) of”) [and other forms] + -ment (suffix forming nouns usually of an action or a state resulting from an action). Retrancher and retranchier are derived from Old French re- (prefix meaning ‘again, once more’) + tranchier, trenchier (“to cut”) [and other forms] (modern French trancher (“to slice”)); the further etymology is uncertain, but one possibility is that the Old French words are from Latin truncāre, the present active infinitive of truncō (“to mutilate by cutting off pieces; to truncate”), from truncus (“tree trunk; piece cut off”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *twerḱ- (“to carve; to cut off, trim”). * retrench (“to cut down, reduce; to reduce expenses; to make (an employee) redundant”) + -ment. Retrench is derived from Middle French retrancher, retranchier: see above.

Frequently asked questions

What is the meaning of retrenchment?

"retrenchment" (noun) means a curtailment or reduction.

What are the different meanings of retrenchment?

"retrenchment" has 3 main meanings: 1. A curtailment or reduction; 2. An act of reducing expenses; economizing; 3. An act of terminating the employment of a worker or making an employee redundant, often to reduce expenses; a layoff.