different between duty vs occupation

English

Etymology

From Middle English duete, from Middle English dewe) + Middle English -te, (borrowed from Old French -te from Latin -t?tem, accusative masculine singular of -t?s). Akin to due + -ty (Alternative form of -ity).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?dju?ti/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /du?ti/
• Rhymes: -u?ti
• Homophone: doody (for some speakers)

Noun

duty (countable and uncountable, plural duties)

1. That which one is morally or legally obligated to do.
   • 1805, 21 October, Horatio Nelson

     England expects that every man will do his duty.

   • Captain Edward Carlisle […] felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze, […]; he could not tell what this prisoner might do. He cursed the fate which had assigned such a duty, cursed especially that fate which forced a gallant soldier to meet so superb a woman as this under handicap so hard.
2. The state of being at work and responsible for or doing a particular task.

3. A tax placed on imports or exports; a tariff.

   customs duty; excise duty

4. (obsolete) One's due, something one is owed; a debt or fee.
   • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Matthew XX:

     Take that which is thy duty, and goo thy waye.

5. (obsolete) Respect; reverence; regard; act of respect; homage.
6. The efficiency of an engine, especially a steam pumping engine, as measured by work done by a certain quantity of fuel; usually, the number of pounds of water lifted one foot by one bushel of coal (94 lbs. old standard), or by 1 cwt. (112 lbs., England, or 100 lbs., United States).

Usage notes

• Adjectives often used with "duty": public, private, moral, legal, social, double, civic, contractual, political, judicial, etc.

Synonyms

• (that which one is obligated to do): obligation

Antonyms

• duty-free (taxes)
• (that which one is obligated to do): right

Derived terms

Related terms

• due

Translations

Further reading

• duty in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• duty in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• duty at OneLook Dictionary Search

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?dut?]

Participle

duty

1. past passive participle of du?

Declension

English

Etymology

From Middle English occupacioun, borrowed from Middle French occupation, from Latin occup?tio.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?kj??pe???n/, /?kj??pe???n/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /?kj??pe???n/, /?kj??pe???n/
• Rhymes: -e???n

Noun

occupation (countable and uncountable, plural occupations)

1. An activity or task with which one occupies oneself; usually specifically the productive activity, service, trade, or craft for which one is regularly paid; a job.
2. The act, process or state of possessing a place.
3. The control of a country or region by a hostile army.

Synonyms

• (activity with which one occupies oneself) employment, interest, line of work, profession, vocation

Translations

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin occup?tio, occup?ti?nem. Synchronically analysable as occuper +? -ation.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?.ky.pa.sj??/

Noun

occupation f (plural occupations)

1. occupation (the occupying of a territory; something that one spends one's time on, such as a job or a hobby; act of occupying, of being an occupant)

Related terms

• occuper

Further reading

• “occupation” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).