Dictionary

sinecure en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈsaɪ.nəˌkjʊɹ/ (Canada, US)
• /ˈsɑɪ.nɪˌkjʊə/ (Australia)
• (Southern-England) audio
• sī′nĭ-kyo͝or′
• /ˈsɪn.əˌkjʊɹ/ (Canada, US)
• sĭn′ĭ-kyo͝or′
• /ˈsɪn.ɪˌkjʊə/ (Australia)
• /ˈsɪn.ɪˌkjʊə/ (UK)
• /ˈsaɪ.nɪˌkjʊə/ (UK)

Etymology

From Ecclesiastical Latin sine cūrā (literally “without care”), ellipsis of beneficium sine cūrā (“benefice without cure [of souls, i.e. the office of a curate]”), formed from Medieval Latin sine (“without”) + cūrā (“care, charge, cure”).

Meanings

1. (not-comparable) Requiring no work for an ample reward.
   • By the act of union (1800), the offices of Irish secretary, a sinecure post, and lord lieutenant's secretary were combined. 2006, Desmond Keenan, Post-Famine Ireland: Social Structure: Ireland as It Really Was, page 184:
2. (not-comparable) Having the appearance of functionality without being of any actual use or purpose.
   • The old man hastily pulled down his spectacles from their sinecure office on his forehead, and looked at her with an expression of most angry amazement. 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter VII, in Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 157:

sinecure en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈsaɪ.nəˌkjʊɹ/ (Canada, US)
• /ˈsɑɪ.nɪˌkjʊə/ (Australia)
• (Southern-England) audio
• sī′nĭ-kyo͝or′
• /ˈsɪn.əˌkjʊɹ/ (Canada, US)
• sĭn′ĭ-kyo͝or′
• /ˈsɪn.ɪˌkjʊə/ (Australia)
• /ˈsɪn.ɪˌkjʊə/ (UK)
• /ˈsaɪ.nɪˌkjʊə/ (UK)

Etymology

From Ecclesiastical Latin sine cūrā (literally “without care”), ellipsis of beneficium sine cūrā (“benefice without cure [of souls, i.e. the office of a curate]”), formed from Medieval Latin sine (“without”) + cūrā (“care, charge, cure”).

Meanings

1. A position that requires little to no work, or easy work, but still gives an ample payment; a cushy job.
   • With extra traffic, numerous boat trains to and from Southampton Docks, and working of empty stock, his job, like that of most signalmen, is no sinecure. 1954 September, 'South Western', “Shawford Junction Signalbox”, in Railway Magazine, page 604:
   • His prospects consisted of a hope that if he kept up appearances somebody would do something for him. The something appeared vaguely to his imagination as a private secretaryship or a sinecure of some sort. 1912 (date written), [George] Bernard Shaw, “Pygmalion. Sequel: What Happened Afterwards.”, in Androcles and the Lion, Overruled, Pygmalion, London: Constable and Company, published 1916, →OCLC, page 196:
   • A lucrative sinecure in the Excise was bestowed on Ferguson. 1851, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XI, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume III, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC, page 35:
   • In the ADF, while the numbers vary between the individual services and the reserves, employment is no comfortable sinecure for any personnel and thus does not appeal to many people, male or female, especially under current pay scales. 2009, Michael O'Connor, Quadrant, November 2009, No. 461 (Volume LIII, Number 11), Quadrant Magazine Limited, page 25
   • However, by the time of World War II (if not before), politics, at least in the federal sphere, was no longer regarded as sinecure for well-intentioned part-timers. 2010, Mungo MacCallum, The Monthly, April 2010, Issue 55, The Monthly Ptd Ltd, page 28
   • Miss Briggs was not formally dismissed, but her place as companion was a sinecure and a derision […] 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 14, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:
2. (historical) An ecclesiastical benefice without the care of souls.

Forms

Deriveds

sinecural · sinecurist · sinecurism

Relateds

bargain · cronyism · curate

Synonyms

cushy number · bankers' hours

Translations (38)

ru корму́шка (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · es canonjía (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · de Versorgungsposten (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · es breva (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · es sinecura (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · sv sinekur (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · el αργομισθία (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · nb sinekyre (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · bg синекурна длъжност (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · ca canongia (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · cmn 乾俸 /干俸 (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · da loppetjans (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · pl synekura (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · ru синеку́ра (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · es prebenda (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · da sinecure (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · pt sinecura (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · eo sinekuro (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · nn sinekyre (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · ja 閑職 (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · ro sinecură (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · fi suojatyöpaikka (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · da ben (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · de Sinekure (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · fr planque (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · et sinekuur (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · cy segurswydd (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · fi laiskanvirka (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · sh sinekura (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · nl sinecure (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · fr sinécure (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · es enchufe (cronyistic) (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · it sinecura (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · cs trafika (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · cmn 閒職 /闲职 (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · ca prebenda (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · sh uhljebljenje (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment) · ru тёпленькое месте́чко (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment)

sinecure en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˈsaɪ.nəˌkjʊɹ/ (Canada, US)
• /ˈsɑɪ.nɪˌkjʊə/ (Australia)
• (Southern-England) audio
• sī′nĭ-kyo͝or′
• /ˈsɪn.əˌkjʊɹ/ (Canada, US)
• sĭn′ĭ-kyo͝or′
• /ˈsɪn.ɪˌkjʊə/ (Australia)
• /ˈsɪn.ɪˌkjʊə/ (UK)
• /ˈsaɪ.nɪˌkjʊə/ (UK)

Etymology

From Ecclesiastical Latin sine cūrā (literally “without care”), ellipsis of beneficium sine cūrā (“benefice without cure [of souls, i.e. the office of a curate]”), formed from Medieval Latin sine (“without”) + cūrā (“care, charge, cure”).

Meanings

1. (transitive) To put or place in a sinecure.

Forms