Other forms: memberships
Membership is belonging to a group, or the people who belong. Renew your membership, the membership voted, membership fees.
It works two ways: your membership is what you hold, and the membership is everybody who holds one. In the second sense it takes a plural verb in British English — the membership have voted — and a singular in American.
1nounmembershipBelonging to a group, or the people who belong.
“Membership of the gym costs thirty pounds a month.”
membership is a belonging.
Proto-Indo-European
*mḗms — flesh
Proto-Italic
*memzrom
Latin
membrum — limb, body part
Old French
membre
Middle English
membre
English
member
English, today
membership
From member + -ship. member comes from Middle English membre, from Old French membre, from Latin membrum (“limb, body part”), from Proto-Italic memzrom, from Proto-Indo-European mḗms (“flesh”). Akin to Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌼𐌶 (“meat, flesh”), gme-cgo menus. Coexists with native limb, from lim (“limb, joint, main branch”). Mostly lith, from liþ (“limb, member, join, tip”), which still survives in British dialect.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA