Occupatie

Occupatie is a Dutch noun meaning occupation in two principal senses. It can refer to the act of occupying a space, such as holding a position or territory, or to the activity of working for a living.

In the employment sense, occupatie is commonly used in HR, labor statistics and everyday language to denote the kind of work a person does. It is often synonymous with occupation or profession, though many speakers prefer more specific terms such as beroep, baan, or werk.

In territorial contexts, occupatie denotes the act of occupying a space or territory, including a foreign power's control. In common usage, bezetting is more frequent for military occupation; occupatie is used in formal or legal writing to describe the occupation period, occupation authority, or the legal status of an occupied territory.

Etymology and related terms: occupatie derives from French occupation, via Latin occupatio. In Dutch the verb corresponding to the noun is occupëren, and the concept is closely related to that verb.