A leave from duty, granted by a superior officer.   The furloughed soldier carried papers which described his appearance, his unit, when he left and when he was due to return.  Furlough papers also contained a warning that failure to return on time would cause the soldier to be "considered a deserter".  

1783, "grant leave of absence" (to a soldier), from furlough (n.). Of employees, "lay off or suspend temporarily," by 1940. Related: Furloughed; furloughing.

1620s, vorloffe, from Dutch verlof, literally "permission," from Middle Dutch ver- "completely, for" + laf, lof "permission," from Proto-Germanic *laubo- (see leave (v.)) [..]

n. A temporary absence of a soldier or sailor by permission of the commanding officer.

A vacation or leave of absence from active duty for a person enlisted in the military.

Definition An involuntary, temporary layoff of employees that frequently occurs during poor economic conditions. It is often an alternative to massive work force cuts. This unpaid leave can be short t [..]

A temporary leave of absence granted without pay to an employee. Some libraries and library systems use mandatory furloughs to cut costs in a budget crisis, electing to close for one or more weeks, us [..]

Furlough means “the placing of an employee in a temporary status without duties and pay because of lack of work or funds or other nondisciplinary reasons.” (5 USCS § 7511)

(n) a temporary leave of absence from military duty(v) dismiss, usually for economic reasons(v) grant a leave to

A furlough is a temporary leave of absence for some of a company’s employees, often due to economic conditions or changes in demand for the company’s products and services.

 A temporary leave of absence authorized for a prisoner from confinement (jail or prison).

For the purposes of this chapter, the placement of an employee in a temporary nonduty and nonpay status for more than 30 consecutive calendar days, or more than 22 workdays if done on a discontinuous [..]

A leave of absence or vacation. # (US) especially one granted to a member of the armed forces, or to a prisoner. # (British) especially one granted to a missionary. The documents authorizing suc [..]

lang=en Noun quotations 1900s=1922| 2000s=2008 *'''1922''', , ''The West'', lines 13-15 *:Oh, wide's the world, to rest or roam, *:With change abroad and cheer at home *:Fights and furloughs, talk [..]