bonus

bonus

bonus extra amount in money, bonds, or goods over what is normally due. The term is applied especially to payments to employees either for production in excess of the normal (wage incentive) or as a share of surplus profits. The wage incentive was designed during the late 19th cent. not only to increase production but to reward the more skillful and more energetic workers. The hourly or weekly wage was to be figured as payment for a standard rate of work, and the workers who exceeded that standard were to receive a bonus. However, the system fell into disfavor with labor unions because rate cutting was often resorted to when bonuses became too high. Industrial engineers of the 1930s realized that definite standards of accomplishment and quality must be set to make wage incentives workable. Many firms have used an annual bonus plan for distributing abnormal profits to employees. The term is also applied to payments to former servicemen in addition to regular pensions and insurance. Veterans of World War I lobbied to obtain a bonus for their military service. In 1924 each veteran received an adjusted compensation certificate entitling him to a payment averaging $1,000 to be made in 1945. In 1932 about 15,000 unemployed veterans formed the "Bonus Expeditionary Force," or Bonus Marchers , and marched to Washington to demand immediate payment of the certificates. President Hoover ordered troops to oust them from federal property. In 1936 Congress passed a law permitting the veterans to exchange their certificates for cashable bonds. A number of states voted veterans' bonuses after World War II and the Korean War.

Bibliography: See W. W. Waters, B.E.F.: The Whole Story of the Bonus Army (1933, repr. 1969); V. D. Kennedy, Union Policy and Incentive Wage Methods (1945, repr. 1969); J. K. Louden, Wage Incentives (2d ed. 1959); R. Marriott, Incentive Payment Systems (3d rev. ed. 1968).

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"bonus." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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bonus

bo·nus / ˈbōnəs/ • n. a payment or gift added to what is usual or expected, in particular: ∎  an amount of money added to wages on a seasonal basis, esp. as a reward for good performance: big Christmas bonuses. ∎  something welcome and often unexpected that accompanies and enhances something that is itself good: good weather is an added bonus but the real appeal is the landscape. ∎ Basketball an extra free throw awarded to a fouled player when the opposing team has exceeded the number of team fouls allowed during a period. ORIGIN: late 18th cent. (probably originally London stock-exchange slang): from Latin bonus (masculine) ‘good,’ used in place of bonum (neuter) ‘good, good thing.’

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"bonus." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"bonus." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-bonus.html

"bonus." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-bonus.html

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bonus

bonus addition to normal pay. XVIII. prob. joc. or ignorant application of L. bonus m. for bonum n. good thing.

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T. F. HOAD. "bonus." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "bonus." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-bonus.html

T. F. HOAD. "bonus." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-bonus.html

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bonus

bonus •pandanus •badness, madness, sadness •Magnus • aptness •fatness, patness •redness • wetness •anus, Coriolanus, heinous, Janus, Punta Arenas, Silvanusgenus, intravenous, Maecenas, Malvinas, Salinas, venous, Venus •Cygnus • proteinous • ruinous •libidinous •multitudinous, platitudinous, pulchritudinous, vicissitudinous •cartilaginous, farraginous, oleaginous •fuliginous, indigenous, oxygenous, polygynous, rubiginous, vertiginous •androgynous, autogenous, endogenous, erogenous, exogenous, homogenous, hydrogenous, misogynous •ferruginous • ominous •bituminous, leguminous, luminous, numinous, voluminous •conterminous, coterminous, terminus, verminous •larcenous • gelatinous • cretinous •mountainous •glutinous, mutinous •resinous •Aquinas, Delphinus, echinus, Linus, Longinus, minus, Plotinus, sinus, vinous •oddness • wanness • hotness •Faunus, rawness •Kaunas •bonus, Cronus, Jonas, lowness, onus, Tithonus •oldness •newness, twoness •fulness •alumnus, rumness •oneness • Oceanus • Eridanus •diaphanous • polyphonous •cacophonous, homophonous •porcellanous • villainous •membranous • tyrannous •synchronous • Uranus • tetanus •monotonous • gluttonous •cavernous, ravenous •treasonous • poisonous • Avernus

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"bonus." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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BONUS

BONUS (ˈbəʊnəs) Finance Borrower's Option for Notes and Underwritten Standby

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FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "BONUS." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "BONUS." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-BONUS.html

FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "BONUS." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-BONUS.html

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