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occupy
oc·cu·py / ˈäkyəˌpī/ • v. (-pies, -pied) [tr.] 1. reside or have one's place of business in (a building): the apartment she occupies in Manhattan. ∎ fill or take up (a space or time): two long windows occupied almost the whole wall. ∎ be situated in or at (a place or position in a system or hierarchy): on the corporate ladder, they occupy the lowest rungs. ∎ hold (a position or job). 2. (often be occupied with/in) fill or preoccupy (the mind or thoughts): her mind was occupied with alarming questions. ∎ keep (someone) busy and active: Sarah occupied herself taking the coffee cups over to the sink | [as adj.] (occupied) tasks that kept her occupied for the remainder of the afternoon. 3. take control of (a place, esp. a country) by military conquest or settlement: Syria was occupied by France under a League of Nations mandate. ∎ enter, take control of, and stay in (a building) illegally and often forcibly, esp. as a form of protest: the workers occupied the factory. DERIVATIVES: oc·cu·pi·er / -ˌpīər/ n. ORIGIN: Middle English: formed irregularly from Old French occuper, from Latin occupare ‘seize.’ A now obsolete vulgar sense ‘have sexual relations with’ seems to have led to the general avoidance of the word in the 17th and most of the 18th cent. |
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Cite this article
"occupy." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "occupy." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-occupy.html "occupy." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-occupy.html |
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occupy
occupy v. -ies, -ied
1. take control of (a place, especially a country) by military conquest or settlement: Syria was occupied by France under a League of Nations mandate. 2. enter, take control of, and stay in (a building) illegally and often forcibly, especially as a form of protest: the workers occupied the factory. occupier n. |
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Cite this article
"occupy." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "occupy." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-occupy.html "occupy." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-occupy.html |
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occupy
occupy †take possession of; have in one's possession; take up, use up; employ, engage XIV; †lay out, invest XVI. — AN. *occupier for (O)F. occuper — L. occupāre seize, f. OC- + cap- of capere take, seize.
So occupant XVI, occupier, occupation XIV. |
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "occupy." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "occupy." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-occupy.html T. F. HOAD. "occupy." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-occupy.html |
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occupy
occupy •magpie • Philippi • sweetie-pie
•occupy
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Cite this article
"occupy." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "occupy." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-occupy.html "occupy." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-occupy.html |
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