WORD A DAY

SINECURE: an office or position that requires little or no work and that usually provides an income

"Sinecure" comes from the Medieval Latin phrase sine cura, which literally means "without cure." Not surprisingly, its earliest-known use referred to an ecclesiastical benefice without cure of soulds - that is, a clerical office in which the jobholder did not have to tend to the spiritual care and instruction of church members. Such sinecures were virtually done away with by the end of the 19th century, but by then the word had acquired a broader sense referring to any paid position with few or no responsibilties.