See Also: hireling(dictionary)
hireling(dictionary)

hireling (iou)



hireling noun & adjective. Usu. derog. OE.
[from HIRE noun + -LING1.]
A. noun.
A person who serves for hire; one motivated chiefly by reward or material remuneration; a mercenary. OE.
Byron Baser hirelings, who live by lies on good men's lives. A. Duggan I hoped that the infantry of the line would do better than our Arab hirelings.
A hired horse. L19.
b. attrib. or as adjective. Of or pertaining to a hireling; serving for hire; mercenary. L16.
? Rare in OE; not recorded again until 16, when formed afresh, prob. after Dutch huurling.