What does employe mean?
An employe is a person who is hired to work for another person, company, or organization in return for wages or a salary. The word is simply a variant spelling of 'employee', the standard modern form, which comes from French 'employé', the past participle of 'employer' (to use or engage). The simplified spelling 'employe' was championed in the United States during the early twentieth century by advocates of streamlined orthography, including at times the Chicago Tribune, but it never achieved broad acceptance and is today regarded as obsolete; readers encountering it are almost always looking at historical documents or typographical errors. In all current writing, 'employee' is the correct choice. Beyond spelling trivia, the underlying word remains central to workplace language: employees form the workforce of a business, enjoy certain legal rights and benefits, and stand in contrast to independent contractors and to the employer who engages them.
nounA person who is hired to work for another person or organization in exchange for wages or salary. 'Employe' is an older, simplified spelling variant of the standard word 'employee'.
- A person hired by an employer to perform work in exchange for wages or salary.
"The firm credited its success to every loyal employe on its staff."
"Each employe was entitled to two weeks of paid vacation under the old contract."
"The newspaper's 1930s style guide insisted on spelling the word 'employe', a simplification that never caught on widely."
The plural adds -s, though this spelling variant is obsolete; the standard modern plural is 'employees'.
"All employes were invited to the company's annual dinner."
This spelling with no final 'ee' was once pushed by American simplifiers like the Chicago Tribune — but English speakers overwhelmingly refused to drop it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of employe
The word derives from French 'employé', the past participle of 'employer', meaning 'to use, engage, or hire', which itself traces back through Middle French to Latin 'implicare' ('to enfold, involve'). English adopted 'employee' in the nineteenth century from French usage, and the shortened spelling 'employe' arose as an American simplification promoted by spelling reformers in the early twentieth century. Related words sharing the same root include 'employ', 'employment', 'employer', and 'deploy'.
How employe is actually used
'Employe' is a nonstandard variant spelling of 'employee' that appeared in some early-to-mid 20th-century American publications, notably promoted by spelling reform advocates such as the Chicago Tribune. It is now considered obsolete or erroneous; writers should use 'employee'.
Easily confused with employe
An employe (employee) is the person who works for someone else, while the employer is the person or organization that hires and pays them.