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Webster 1913 Edition


Hireling

Hire′ling

(hīr′lĭng)
,
Noun.
[AS.
hȳreling
. See
Hire
,
Noun.
, and
-ling
.]
One who is hired, or who serves for wages; esp., one whose motive and interest in serving another are wholly gainful; a mercenary.
“Lewd hirelings.”
Milton.

Hire′ling

,
Adj.
Serving for hire or wages; venal; mercenary.
Hireling mourners.”
Dryden.

Webster 1828 Edition


Hireling

HI'RELING

,
Noun.
One who is hired, or who serves for wages.
1.
A mercenary; a prostitute.

HI'RELING

,
Adj.
Serving for wages; venal; mercenary; employed for money or other compensation.
A tedious crew
Of hireling mourners.

Definition 2024


hireling

hireling

English

Noun

hireling (plural hirelings)

  1. (usually pejorative) an employee who is hired, often to perform unpleasant tasks with little independence
    • 1848: William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair
      When my poor James was in the smallpox, did I allow any hireling to nurse him?
  2. (usually pejorative) someone who does a job purely for money, rather than out of interest in the work itself
    • 1605: Francis Bacon, The Advancement of Learning
      ... it may be truly affirmed that no kind of men love business for itself but those that are learned; for other persons love it for profit, as a hireling that loves the work for the wages;

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