Etymology : Middle English, pledge, wage, from Old North French, of Germanic origin; akin to Gothic wadi pledge; more at WED
Pronunciation : 'wAj
Function : noun
Date : 14th century
1. salary, payment, earnings; just recompense (Literary). engage in, conduct (war, battle). wage\wage\, v. i. to bind one's self; to engage. [obs.]wage \wage\, n. [of. wage, gage, guarantee, engagement. see:
wage, v. t. ].
2. that which is staked or ventured; that for which one incurs risk or danger; prize; gage. [obs.] "that warlike wage.".
3. that for which one labors; meed; reward; stipulated payment for service performed; hire; pay; compensation; -- at present generally used in the plural. see:
wages. "my day's wage." w. scott. "at least i earned my wage." "pay them a wage in advance." morley. "the wages of virtue." by tom thumb, a fairy page, he sent it, and doth him engage, by promise of a mighty wage, it secretly to carry. our praises are our wages. existing legislation on the subject of wages. brit.note: wage is used adjectively and as the first part of compounds which are usually self-explaining; as, wage worker, or wage-worker; wage-earner, etc.
4. To pledge; to hazard on the event of a contest; to stake; to bet, to lay; to wager; as, to wage a dollar.
5. To expose one's self to, as a risk; to incur, as a danger; to venture; to hazard.
6. To engage in, as a contest, as if by previous gage or pledge; to carry on, as a war.
7. To adventure, or lay out, for hire or reward; to hire out.
8. To put upon wages; to hire; to employ; to pay wages to.
9. To give security for the performance of.
10. To bind one's self; to engage.
11. That which is staked or ventured; that for which one incurs risk or danger; prize; gage.
12. That for which one labors; meed; reward; stipulated payment for service performed; hire; pay; compensation; at present generally used in the plural.
13. See Wages. something that remunerates; "wages were paid by check"; "he wasted his pay on drink"; "they saved a quarter of all their earnings".
14. 1. Someone's wages are the amount of money that is regularly paid to them for the work that they do. His wages have gone up This may end efforts to set a minimum wage well above the poverty line.
15. If a person, group, or country wages a campaign or a war, they start it and continue it over a period of time. the three factions that had been waging a civil war. to be involved in a war against someone, or a fight against something wage war (on sb/sth).