# hireling

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈhaɪ.ə.lɪŋ/

## Definitions
1. An employee who is hired, often to perform unpleasant tasks with little independence.
2. Someone who does a job purely for money, rather than out of interest in the work itself.
3. A horse for hire.
4. A prostitute.

## Etymology
From Middle English hirlyng, from Old English hȳrling (“hireling, employee”), from Proto-West Germanic *hūʀijuling. Cognate with West Frisian hierling, Dutch huurling (“hireling, mercenary”), German Low German Hüürling,
German Heuerling. By surface analysis, hire + -ling.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/hireling