hireling

Etymology

From Middle English hirlyng, from Old English hȳrling (“hireling, employee”), from Proto-West Germanic *hūʀijuling. Cognate with West Frisian hierling, Dutch huurling (“hireling, mercenary”), German Low German Hüürling, German Heuerling.

noun

1. (usually derogatory) An employee who is hired, often to perform unpleasant tasks with little independence.
2. (usually derogatory) Someone who does a job purely for money, rather than out of interest in the work itself.
3. A horse for hire.
   In the afternoon they went to a neighbouring livery stables to look for hirellings. 1934, Evelyn Waugh, A Handful of Dust, Chapter 3, Section 5
4. (obsolete) A prostitute.