wage

[weyj]

noun

1. Often wages. money that is paid or received for work or services, as by the hour, day, or week.

   Synonyms: remuneration, compensation, emolument, earnings

2. Economics.,  Usually wages. the share of the products of industry received by labor for its work (as distinct from the share going to capital).

3. (used with a singular or plural verb),  Usually wages. recompense or return.

   The wages of sin is death.

4. Obsolete.,  a pledge or security.

verb (used with object)

waged, waging 

1. to carry on (a battle, war, conflict, argument, etc.).

   to wage war against a nation.

   Synonyms: prosecute, undertake

2. Chiefly British Dialect.,  to hire.

3. Obsolete.

   1. to stake or wager.

   2. to pledge.

verb (used without object)

waged, waging 

1. Obsolete.,  to contend; struggle.

wage

/ weɪdʒ /

noun

1. 1. (often plural) payment in return for work or services, esp that made to workmen on a daily, hourly, weekly, or piece-work basis Compare salary

   2. ( as modifier )

      wage freeze

2. (plural) economics the portion of the national income accruing to labour as earned income, as contrasted with the unearned income accruing to capital in the form of rent, interest, and dividends

3. (often plural) recompense, return, or yield

4. an obsolete word for pledge

verb

1. to engage in

2. obsolete,  to pledge or wager

3. archaic,  another word for hire hire

Other Word Forms

• wageless adjective
• wagelessness noun
• underwage noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of wage¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; (noun) Middle English: “pledge, security,” from Anglo-French; Old French guage gage ¹, from unattested Vulgar Latin wadium, from Germanic ( wed ); (verb) Middle English wagen “to pledge,” from Anglo-French wagier; Old French guagier, from unattested Vulgar Latin wadiāre, derivative of wadium

Word History and Origins

Origin of wage¹

C14: from Old Northern French wagier to pledge, from wage, of Germanic origin; compare Old English weddian to pledge, _wed

Synonym Study

See pay ¹.

Example Sentences

Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of preparing to wage war against it in collusion with an opposition grouping, in the latest sign of escalating tensions between the two neighbours over control of the Red Sea.

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In practical terms, Pearson said, this means measures like raising the federal minimum wage, passing Medicare for All and preventing corporations from automating away jobs that working-class Americans rely on.

Read more on Salon

And the president might possess inherent power to wage war as he sees fit without a formal authorization from Congress, as officials argued during Bush’s presidency.

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Clasby is seeking unspecified monetary damages, including for past and future lost wages, pension benefits and emotional distress.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Raya earned a reported £100,000-per-week at the Emirates but his wages have increased following the agreement, though the length of his contract is understood to have stayed the same.

Read more on BBC