'Pension' is Latin for 'a weighing out' — preserving the ancient practice of making payments by weight.
A regular payment made to a person who has retired from work, or to their surviving dependents; also, in some European languages, a boarding house or small hotel.
From Old French 'pension,' from Latin 'pensio' (a payment, a weighing out), from 'pensus,' past participle of 'pendere' (to weigh, to pay). In ancient Rome, a 'pensio' was literally 'a weighing' — a measured payment weighed out on a balance. The word captures the era when currency was weighed metal. The sense narrowed over
In French, German, Italian, and Spanish, a 'pension' is also a small family-run hotel or boarding house — you pay your 'pension' (board and lodging) regularly. This sense never took strong root in English, which preferred 'boarding house' and later 'bed and breakfast.' European travelers still encounter 'pensiones' in Italy and 'Pensionen' in Austria, not realizing they are