Picture an approved gap. Your place stays yours. You step out of it for a stated length of time because someone with authority allowed it, and going back is part of the arrangement from the start.
furlough 的畫面可以想成一段「被批准的空檔」。你的位置沒有被收走，還留在那裡。你只是暫時離開，而且是上面准的。離開多久，通常一開始就講好了。時間一到就回去，回去本來就寫在這個安排裡。所以不管講的是軍人回鄉、受刑人短暫外出，還是公司叫員工先別來上班，重點都一樣：先離開，之後回來。
From the word’s history
English took furlough from Dutch verlof, which probably goes back to Middle Low German verlof, 'permission'. It is a doublet of leave, a word that likewise carries both 'go away' and 'time off'. The old idea of permission is still what holds the modern uses together.
furlough 借自荷蘭文 verlof，往前可能來自中古低地德文 verlōf，意思是「允許、准許」。它和英文的 leave 是同源的雙生詞，而 leave 同樣兼有「離開」和「休假」。「有人批准」這一層，正是今天各種用法共同的底。
Wiktionary entry for furlough, etymology_text supplied in this packet (source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:782339440:18774)
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