perquisite
Americannoun
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an incidental payment, benefit, privilege, or advantage over and above regular income, salary, or wages.
Among the president's perquisites were free use of a company car and paid membership in a country club.
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a gratuity or tip.
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something demanded or due as a particular privilege.
homage that was once the perquisite of royalty.
noun
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an incidental benefit gained from a certain type of employment, such as the use of a company car
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a customary benefit received in addition to a regular income
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a customary tip
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something expected or regarded as an exclusive right
Etymology
Origin of perquisite
1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin perquīsītum something acquired, noun use of neuter of Latin perquīsītus (past participle of perquīrere to search everywhere for, inquire diligently). See per-, inquisitive
Perquisites are the benefits or "perks" that come along with a job. Free air travel for air hostesses? Free company car for corporate execs? Free pork for politicians? That's right, they're all perquisites. Not to be confused with prerequisite, which happens about ninety-nine percent of the time. A prerequisite is something that must occur before something else can happen. A prerequisite of getting a job, for example, is passing the interview. Of course, for some people to take a particular job, a prerequisite is that there are suitable perquisites or privileges that come with a particular position.
Rebecca
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Emoluments, in constitutional law, are “any perquisite, advantage, or profit arising from the possession of an office.”
From Salon • Apr. 21, 2024
The scraps are absolutely the baker’s perquisite, but feel free to share if someone offers to wash the cake pan.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 8, 2022
James Stephens, from Biteback publishing, also points out that power is not a perquisite for writing a good memoir.
From BBC • Sep. 25, 2020
This misunderstanding may arise because traditional breeding practices do not require sophisticated laboratory equipment or any knowledge of genetics, which some may see as a perquisite for genetic modification.
From Textbooks • Sep. 6, 2018
“It’s the one perquisite allowed to the host, isn’t it, Frank?”
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.