I had to buy a new computer mouse the other day and, on looking at the receipt, I see that it includes the words

Colleague: A Kosor

Is this some new meaning of the word? It seems to be the name of the girl who served me. Surely they should use staff-member, assistant, or similar? I suppose the US equivalent would be clerk. She is not MY colleague: we don't work in the same place; or even in the same field.

I often receive emails from schools that open with "Dear Colleague". I don't really count myself as their colleague, although we do work in the same field of education.

My local supermarket frequently announces over the loudspeaker system things like "Colleague announcement: cleanup in aisle 4." Why not say "Staff announcement ..."?

I haven't heard that usage in the US yet; we have associates instead.

I haven't heard it, either. Although, we do use "colleague" a little too much, I think, in my profession. It seems to be a compliment to call people your "colleagues."

Yes, we see it all the time at work when the reference is to co-workers. It seems to be a favourite of senior management. They are trying presumably for a sense of inclusion and equality. I suppose it is better than being addressed as "Dear wage-slave" or "Dear underling".

quote:

Dear underling

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves that we are underlings."

Julius Caesar, Act I

Thus was sown the green-eyed monster in the winter of his discontent.

You guess the plays !