Seniority is the rank that comes from length of service. By seniority, seniority rules, based on seniority.
It decides order of promotion, redundancy and sometimes pay in organisations that use it, and unions have historically defended it because it is objective — length of service cannot be argued with, where merit can. Critics say it rewards staying rather than performing. Note senior, seniority list; and that the Latin behind it means simply elder, from senex, an old man.
1nounseniorityThe rank that comes from length of service.
“Staff with the most seniority get first choice of holiday dates.”
seniority is a basis of rank.
Medieval Latin senioritas comes from senior, elder, from senex, old. Senate, senile and sir come from the same age.
Latin
senior — elder
Medieval Latin
senioritas
Middle English
senyoryte
English, today
seniority
From Middle English senyoryte, from Medieval Latin senioritas, from Latin senior (“elder”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA