30 January 2015
perquisite
[pur-kwuh-zit]
noun
1. an incidental payment, benefit, privilege, or advantage over and above regular income, salary, or wages:
Among the president’s perquisites were free use of a company car and paid membership in a country club.
2. a gratuity or tip.
3. something demanded or due as a particular privilege:
homage that was once the perquisite of royalty.
Origin
late Middle English Medieval Latin, Latin
1400-1450; late Middle English < Medieval Latin perquīsītum something acquired, noun use of neuter of Latin perquīsītus (past participle of perquīrere to search everywhere for, inquire diligently). See per-, inquisitive
Can be confused
perquisite, prerequisite.
Dictionary.com
Examples from the web for perquisite
– Going to a designer’s showroom to shop wholesale is a perquisite of public life.
– But the club has one perquisite enjoyed by few others in the state.
– It has become less of a perquisite or a way to build client relationships and more of a job.
Anagram
tip esquire
quiet spire
Today’s aphorism
Never apologise for burning too brightly or collapsing into yourself every night. That is how galaxies are made.
– Tyler Kent White
On this day
30 January 1648 – signing of the Peace of Munster, between the Dutch Republic and the Kingdom of Spain and was officially ratified on the 15 May 1648. This treaty was the first in a series of peace treaties known as the Peace of Westphalia which paved the way for the modern sovereign state. The second being the Treaty of Munster and the Treaty of Osnabrück, both signed on 24 October 1648.
30 January 1882 – birth of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), who was a member of the Democratic Party and became the 32nd President of the USA. He is the only president to serve four consecutive terms. FDR served from 4 March 1933 until his death on 12 April 1945. In 1921, FDR contracted polio, which left him paralysed from the waist down.
30 January 1948 – assassination of Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi.
30 January 1972 – ‘Bloody Sunday’ in Derry, Northern Ireland when 26 unarmed protesters were shot by British soldiers, killing 13 instantly, with a 14th dying some months later from his injuries. Seventeen were injured. John Lennon recorded a song about the incident, entitled ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday‘, which appeared on his ‘Sometime in New York City‘ album.