person-hour
Meaning
A unit of work equal to the work done by one person in one hour.
Structure
Usage
The project was estimated to require over ten thousand person-hours to complete.
We calculate the team's productivity by dividing the output by the total person-hours worked.
The budget allows for 500 person-hours of development time for this software feature.
Etymology
The term 'person-hour' is a modern compound noun, a product of industrial and economic management in the 20th century. It is formed by directly combining two common English nouns: 'person', which traces back to the Latin 'persona' originally denoting a theatrical mask and later the character or individual behind it, and 'hour', from the Greek 'hōra' meaning a fixed period or season. The logic of the compound is purely mathematical and functional, quantifying labor by multiplying the number of workers by the time they spend. This creates an abstract unit for planning, costing, and measuring productivity, where the literal meanings of 'individual' and 'time unit' combine to form a standardized metric of work input.
Analysis
- person: From Latin 'persona' (actor's mask, character, person). In this compound, it functions as a noun meaning an individual human being. - hour: From Old French 'hore', from Latin 'hora', from Greek 'hōra' (season, hour). In this compound, it functions as a noun meaning a unit of time.