'employ' originates from Old French, specifically the word 'employer', where the prefix 'en-' meant 'in/into' and the root 'ployer' (from Latin 'plicare') meant 'to fold or bend'.

'employ' changed from Old French 'employer' into Middle English forms such as 'emploien' or 'employen' and eventually became the modern English word 'employ'.

Initially, it meant 'to put into use or apply' (with a sense of 'putting into a fold/arrangement'), and over time it evolved into the current senses of 'to use' or 'to hire'.