definitions

wage

[ weyj ]
/ weɪdʒ /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wage ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

verb (used with object), waged, wag·ing.

verb (used without object), waged, wag·ing.

Obsolete. to contend; struggle.

RELATED CONTENT

Does Grammar Matter In The Workplace?Certain employers say it’s important to them that their workers exhibit good grammar. But, is bad grammar a valid reason to bar someone from a job? In the Harvard Business Review, Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit and founder of Dozuki, wrote an article called “I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar.” In the article, Wiens argues that it is important to take into account …
READ MORE
Did You Know How This Word Was Formed?Words are funny things. Here are some that might not mean what you thought ... at least when they were originally formed.
READ MORE

RELATED WORDS

do, prosecute, pursue, make, practice, undertake, conduct, fulfill

Nearby words

waft, waftage, wafter, wafture, wag, wage, wage determination, wage differential, wage earner, wage incentive, wage scale

Origin of wage

1275–1325; (noun) Middle English: pledge, security < Anglo-French; Old French guage gage1 < Vulgar Latin *wadium < Germanic (see wed); (v.) Middle English wagen to pledge < Anglo-French wagier; Old French guagier < Vulgar Latin *wadiāre, derivative of *wadium

Related forms

wage·less, adjectivewage·less·ness, nounun·der·wage, noun

Can be confused

salary wages
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for waged

British Dictionary definitions for waged

wage

/ (weɪdʒ) /

noun

  1. (often plural) payment in return for work or services, esp that made to workmen on a daily, hourly, weekly, or piece-work basisCompare salary
  2. (as modifier)wage freeze
(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
(often plural) recompense, return, or yield
an obsolete word for pledge

verb (tr)

Derived Forms

wageless, adjectivewagelessness, noun

Word Origin for wage

C14: from Old Northern French wagier to pledge, from wage, of Germanic origin; compare Old English weddian to pledge, wed
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012