/perr'seuh nel"/ , n.
1. a body of persons employed in an organization or place of work.
2. ( used with a pl. v. ) persons: All personnel are being given the day off.
3. See personnel department .
[ 1825-35; personnel (adj.) PERSONAL personale, neut. of personalis; r. personal (n.), Anglicized form of F personnel; cf. G Personal, var. of Personale, It personale. See MATÉRIEL ]
Usage. 2. Some usage guides object to the use of PERSONNEL as a plural. However, this use is well established and standard in all varieties of speech and writing. The use of PERSONNEL with a preceding number is largely restricted to business and government communications: Six personnel were transferred.