guolaosi

Etymology

From Mandarin 過勞死／过劳死 (guòláosǐ), from Japanese 過労死 (karōshi). Doublet of gwarosa and karoshi.

Why this word is great

GUOLAOSI — [Noun] Death resulting from excessive work or overwork. From Mandarin 過勞死 (guòláosǐ), borrowed from Japanese 過労死 (karōshi), composed of 過労 (karō, "overwork") + 死 (shi, "death"). Doublet of gwarosa and karoshi. Unlike "karoshi" (which carries the cultural weight of Japan's corporate rigor) or "burnout" (which implies exhaustion without finality), guolaosi is the blunt terminus of relentless labor. It is the fluorescent-lit office at 3 a.m., the untouched meal congealing beside a silent keyboard, the last breath exhaled into a spreadsheet—a quiet indictment of the modern alchemy that turns time into gold, and gold into dust.

noun

Death from overwork.“They say that Chinese workers in factories supplying Wal-Mart are dying from guolaosi—“overwork death”—from working upwards of fifteen hours a day, seven days a week, for months on end in a frenzy to quickly and cheaply fill demand ...”