underpayment
過少支払い
解説 Definition
支払うべき金額よりも少ない金額を支払うこと。雇用契約や給与において、本来受け取るべき報酬が不足している状態。
Underpayment is the act of paying less than the correct or expected amount. It is commonly used for wages, bills, or compensation, and it may happen by mistake or because of unfair treatment.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
underpayment は under + payment と切って覚えるのが最短です。under は underpaid「薄給の」、underestimate「過小評価する」と同じく「基準より下・足りない」の感覚、payment は pay の名詞形。つまり「本来払う線より下の支払い」。salary, wages, compensation などお金の語と一緒に出やすく、an underpayment of wages の形で見ると定着しやすいです。未払い unpaid とは違い、ゼロではなく「一応払ったが足りない」点に注意。
Split it into under + payment. Under- often means "too little," as in underpaid, so underpayment is easier to remember as a payment that is not enough. Keep it separate from unpaid: unpaid means nothing was paid, but underpayment means some money was paid, just not the full amount.
例文
The company faced a lawsuit for underpayment of overtime wages.
その企業は残業代の過少支払いで訴訟に直面した。
Underpayment of taxes can result in penalties and interest charges.
税金の過少支払いは罰金と利息請求につながる可能性がある。
Employees discovered underpayment in their final paychecks.
従業員は最終給与に過少支払いがあることを発見した。
underpayment の類義語・関連語
underpayment の語源・成り立ち Etymology
under-「不足して」+ payment「支払い」です。pay は古フランス語を経てラテン語 pacare「静める・満足させる」にさかのぼり、peace や appease と同根です。相手や借りを十分に静めきれない支払いだと考えると、underpayment が「過少支払い」だと納得できます。
Underpayment is made from under- and payment. Pay came through Old French from Latin pacare, meaning "to satisfy" or "to make peaceful," and it is related to peace and appease. The older idea was settling a debt or calming a claim, and underpayment developed for a payment that does not fully satisfy what is owed.
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