▪ I. wage, n.
(weɪdʒ)
Forms: 4 Sc. vag, 4 Sc., 6 wag, 6 waige, wayge, pl. wagies, Sc. vaig(e, vage, 6–7 wadge, 4– wage.
[a. AF., OF. (north-eastern) wage (AL. wagium) = Central OF. guage, gage (mod.F. gage), Prov. gage-s, It. gaggio:—popular L. *wadium, of Teut. origin: see wed n.]
† 1. a. A pledge or security; = gage n.1 1. Phr. to hold, lay in wage. Obs.
| [1183 Pipe Roll 29 Hen. II (1911) 61 Henricus dec' de Wallebi debet .v. m. quia renuit dare wagium et plegium justiciariis.] 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 139 He sesed fiue castels, & held þam in his wage. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xli. (Agnes) 400 Here-of in vitnesyng remanis ay þe forsad ryng one þe fyngire of þat ymag of vad of weding in-to vag. 1513 Douglas æneis v. iv. 132 Or thai thar land sul los or vassalage Thai had far levir lay thar lyf in wage. 1530 Palsgr. 286/1 Wage or pledge, gaige. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. iv. 39 But th' Elfin knight, which ought that warlike wage, Disdaind to loose the meed he wonne in fray. |
† b. A challenge or engagement to fight. In full,
wage of battle.
Cf. gage n.1 2.
Obs.| c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 8476 So it was seyde to the Emperoure..How ffight was taken hem be-twene, And no man myȝt here ire a-swage And thei hadde ȝeuen to-gedur wage. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccxvii. 113 And y⊇ same season ther was a wage of batel before the french king, betwene two noble and expert knightes. |
2. A payment to a person for service rendered. Formerly used widely,
e.g. for the salary or fee paid to persons of official or professional status. Now (
exc. in rhetorical language) restricted to mean: The amount paid periodically,
esp. by the day or week or month, for the labour or service of an employee, worker, or servant.
Commonly in
pl. (after F.
gages). The
sing. is now either
dial. or has a rhetorical flavour; but it has sometimes a special convenience with reference to a particular instance or amount (see
e.g. quot. 1776 in a).
a. sing. (For
living wage see
living vbl. n. 7.)
| 13.. Coer de L. 4264 Ther was non so lytyl page, That ne hadde to hys wage, Off gold and sylvyr [etc.]. 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 319 Ilk man þou reft his wage. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 513/1 Wage, or hyre, stipendium, salarium. 1510 Sel. Cases Star Chamb. (Selden Soc.) II. 73 Lewed & evyll disposed persons..to whom..the seid Priour gave wage vjd by the day. 1522 World & Child (facs.) A iij, Whan I was seuen yere of age I was sent to the worlde to take wage And this seuen yere I haue ben his page. 1621 Sclater Quæst. Tythes (1623) F 5, Dreames any man hee meant it to the Lord as a Wage for his Worke. 1776 Adam Smith W.N. i. x. I. 177 When masters combine together in order to reduce the wages of their workmen, they commonly enter into a private bond or agreement, not to give more than a certain wage under a certain penalty. 1855 W. G. Clark in Cambr. Ess. 287 Millions of childen..must needs commence their life of toil in the factory or the field, as soon as their physical strength enables them to get a day's wage for a day's work. 1877 Morley Crit. Misc. Ser. ii. 204 The labourers, having little heart in work for which they had no wage. |
b. pl.| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xi. 283 He þat toke ȝow ȝowre tytle shulde take ȝow ȝowre wages. 1429 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 338/2 Ye seide Lord Talbot, servid the Kynges Fader..withoute takyng of any wages. 1444 Ibid. V. 110/2 To arreze the wages of the Knyghtes of the shires. c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. xv. (1885) 146 It shall not be necessarie, þat the xij spirituell men off this covnsell haue so gret wages as the xij temporall men. 1540 Test. Ebor. VI. 107, I will that a prest synge for my fayther..and he to have for his wadges vij markes in the yere. 1588 Kyd Househ. Philos. Wks. (1901) 265 Gyuing euery one hys sallary or day wages. 1642 J. M[arsh] Argt. conc. Militia 17 By the Law it is enacted, that no Knight Citizen or Burges, absent himself under the paine of the losse of their wages. 1776 Adam Smith W.N. i. viii. (init.) I. 78 The produce of labour constitutes the natural recompence or wages of labour. 1809 Kendall Trav. I. xv. 169 A member would be thought not to earn what are called his wages. These wages amount to two dollars per diem. 1829 Carlyle Jrnl. in Froude Life (1882) II. 83 Thus we have private individuals whose wages are equal to the wages of seven or eight thousand other individuals. 1872 Raymond Mines 282 Wages are still low, $1 per day and board. |
¶ The
pl. was formerly often construed as
sing.| 1388 [see 2 e]. 1539 in Abstr. Protocols Town Clerks Glasgow (1897) IV. 118 Everilk ane to haif ane lyik waigis. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utopia ii. ix. (1895) 302 Theire dayly wages is so lytle that it will not suffice for the same daye. 1621 Sclater Quæst. Tythes Introd. (1623) B 1, How easie is it to answer, that Tythes was that inheritance, and Tythes is this wages. 1679 L. Addison 1st St. Mahumedism 23 As for his wages, it amounted to so little, that it would not do him much service. 1731–9 Tull Horse-hoeing Husb. Notes on Pref. (1822) 321 As their wages is supposed to be low, their masters find them in tools to work with. |
† c. spec. The pay of a soldier. Chiefly
pl. to take wages: to enlist, take service (
with or
under a commander).
Obs.| 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 163 A hundreth knyghtes mo.. & fiue hundreth o fote, to whilk I salle pay Ilk day þer wages. 1436 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 499/1 Wages of Werre for the said Soudeours. c 1440 Generydes 2441 With the Sowdon he will take no wage. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon ix. 216 He..wende that it had ben straunge knyghtes that were come vnto hym to take wages. 1535 Coverdale 1 Macc. iii. 28 Kynge Antiochus..opened his treasury, and gaue his hoost a yeares wagies in honde. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 250 b, They also, which..take wages under them in this war. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxx. 181 The Wages, due to them that hold the publique Sword. |
† d. Phr.
at wage,
under wages,
at or of (a person's) wage or wages,
in (a person's) wages: in the pay or service of another.
to put out of wages: to discharge, cashier.
Obs.| ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 302, I salle the forthire..Fifty thowsande mene,..Of my wage for to wende, whare so the lykes. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) v. 38 The Soudan may lede out of Egipt mo than 20000 Men of Armes... And alle tho ben at his Wages. 1420 Waterton in Rymer Fœdera (1709) IX. 883 To come ovyr to zowe at zour Wage, Armyd and Arayde, as langys to thaire Estate to do zowe Service. c 1470 Henry Wallace v. 909 Xxx{supt}{supy} with him off nobill men at wage. 1534 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. let. v. (1537) 110 And fynally,..ye entre newely into the wages of the worlde. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 187 When he espyed one of the souldiers..trymmyng a strop or loope to sette on his darte, he putte out of wages, and discharged of his roume. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI, 88 b, Many of the Britons..submitted themselues to the lorde regent..whom he gentely accepted and put them in wages. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utopia ii. viii. (1895) 253 For them, whomewyth they be in wayges, they fyghte hardelye, fyerslye, and faythefullye. 1553 Brende Q. Curtius P 1, The Greakes y{supt} were in Darius wagies. 1594 J. Melvill Autob. & Diary (Wodrow Soc.) 318 The King, with companies of horsmen and futtmen under wages. 1665 Manley Grotius' Low C. Warres 73 A mutiny for want of pay: which was an unavoydable evill in those parts, though in wages under a most wealthy King. |
e. fig. Reward, recompense.
| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 396 Þat þou schal seche me þi-self..& foch þe such wages As þou deles me to day. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxii. (Laurence) 139 Fere mare Ioyful wictorag þu sal resawe syne to þi wag. 1388 Wyclif Rom. vi. 22 The wagis [1382 hyris] of synne is deth. c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 3886 Ne were that ȝe come in message, Veleyns dethe schulde be ȝoure wage. 1513 Douglas æneis xii. xii. 175 Na for small wagis thai debait and stryfe, But apoun Turnus blude schedding and lyfe. 1549 Coverdale Erasm. Par. 1 Pet. i. 3–9 They y{supt} serue the world goe about to haue rewardes y{supt} are transitory & wage that is slyppery. 1605 Shakes. Lear v. iii. 303 All Friends shall Taste the wages of their vertue. a 1770 Jortin Serm. (1787) I. vi. 122 Yet we may shew the same temper..by loving our religion and liberties better than the wages of slavery and iniquity. 1864 Swinburne Atalanta 2205 The gods give thee fair wage and dues of death. 1915 A. Smellie Lift up your Heart i. 31 He, our Kinsman and Redeemer..bears no relationship to sin any more. He has shaken off its wage and tyranny. |
† 3. A payment for the use or possession of property.
Obs. rare.
| 1447 O. Bokenham Seyntys, Marg. 232 If she be bonde and vndyr seruage:..Hyr lord wyl I yeue ryht good wage And to my paramour hyr vndyrfonge. 1562 in Strype Ann. Ref. xxvii. (1709) 286 The said incumbents paying to the owners, by the wage of a yearly pension, the yearly rent of all such impropriations. 1592 West 1st Pt. Symbol. i. §25 Letting and hyring..is a Contract by consent of the making or vsing of some thing for a certeine rent, hier or wage. 1628 Gaule Pract. Theories (1629) 183 How grossely doth hee [sc. Judas] vndervalue him in this sale, and wage, and rate? |
4. attrib. and
Comb. a. simple
attrib., as
wage(s) bill,
wage board,
wage-book,
wage claim,
wage clerk,
wage contract,
wage cost,
wage cut,
wage demand,
wage dispute,
wage inflation,
wage-labour,
wage labourer,
wage-level,
wage negotiation,
wage packet,
wage payment,
wage policy,
wage push,
wage-rate,
wage restraint,
wage-rigidity,
wage-slave,
wage-slavery,
wage-snatch,
wage spiral,
wage structure,
wage system,
wage-work,
wage-worker;
wage-related,
wage-working adjs.;
b. objective, as
wage-bargainer,
wage-bargaining,
wage control,
wage-earner,
wage-earning vbl. n. and
ppl. adj.,
wage-fixing,
wage-paying,
wage-winner;
† wages-taking ppl. adj.;
c. appositive, as
wage-price attrib.,
esp. in
phr. wage-price spiral; also
wages council, any of a number of joint management and employee councils succeeding the trade boards (from 1945), and responsible for determining the conditions of employment in certain trades;
wage differential = differential n. 3 b;
wage drift, the tendency for wages to rise above national rates through local overtime and other agreements; the extent of this increase;
† wages-fellow,
contemptuously, one who receives wages;
wage freeze, a temporary fixing of wages at a certain level;
cf. pay freeze s.v. pay- 4 and
freeze n.1 (ii);
wages-fund Pol. Econ. (also
wage-fund), that part of the total capital of a community which is available for paying wages;
wage hike N. Amer., a wage increase (
cf. hike n. 2);
wages-man Austral., a man who works for wages;
wage scale, a graduated scale of wage rates for different levels of work;
wage(s-sheet, the list of wages paid by an employer of labour;
wage stop (also
wages stop), the limitation of supplementary benefit to the level of the normal wage; hence
wage-stop v. trans.;
wage-stopped ppl. a.;
wage unit (see
quot. 1936).
| 1968 Economist 23 Mar. 16/3 Any *wage bargainer worth his salt should be able to dress up a claim to fit the loose criteria ‘justifying’ a 3½ per cent increase. |
| 1928 Britain's Industr. Future (Liberal Industr. Inquiry) iii. xvii. 209 In the boot and shoe trade..it has been thought desirable to keep *wage-bargaining apart from the general discussions carried on by the Joint Industrial Council. 1983 Times 24 June 7/6 The fear that mass hunger striking will become a common tool of wage bargaining. |
| 1919 M. Beer Hist. Brit. Socialism I. ii. v. 169 The total *wage bill of the country diminished. 1923 H. W. B. Joseph Labour Theory of Value in Karl Marx ii. 49 If all this is true..a capitalist ought not to be indifferent whether he economizes in his wages-bill or in his other expenditure. 1982 T. Keneally Schindler's Ark viii. 96 The meeting of his wage bill was the least of Oskar's worries. |
| 1925 Scribner's Mag. Oct. 415/2 The regulation of wages has been put in the hands of *wage boards. 1930 Economist 22 Mar. 651/1 The success of the Wages Boards..should be carefully considered. 1970 Washington Post 30 Sept. b 11/5 A 6 per cent raise to 850,000 hard-pressed blue-collar (wage board) people. |
| 1864 Trollope Can you forgive Her? (1865) II. vii. 54, I don't suppose I've opened the *wages book half a dozen times since last July. 1960 G. E. Evans Horse in Furrow ix. 115 These wages-books..contained the lists of jobs allocated to people employed on the farm, and the amount of wages due to them. |
| 1971 H. Wilson Labour Govt. xxxviii. 787 One of the main groups of printing unions, SOGAT, put in a large *wage-claim. |
| 1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §939 *Wages clerk. 1961 Evening Standard 18 July 23/5 Wages clerk to head..wages section. |
| 1921 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 20 Mar. 1/3 We deny that any *wage contract with the miners has been broken. 1977 P. Johnson Enemies of Society iii. 39 The medieval manor..yielded to a cash-nexus society based on wage-contracts between freely-negotiating individuals. |
| 1910 Encycl. Brit. V. 879/1 This argument, which combined statutory *wage control and statutory poor relief, seems to have been firmly embedded in the English legislative mind..till after 1600. 1978 Economist 18 Feb. 75/1 The [Argentine] government..has relaxed wage controls on private industry. 1985 Financial Times 4 Mar. 6/4 The most apparent difference is in their approach to inflation and wage control. |
| 1958 Spectator 4 July 33/3 *Wage-cost inflation. 1975 J. De Bres tr. Mandel's Late Capitalism vi. 203 Economies in costs will thus always be accompanied in the long-run by a relative decrease in the share of wage costs in the value of the commodity. |
| 1945 Wages Councils Act (8 & 9 Geo. VI c. 17) 116 An Act to provide for the establishment of *wages councils. 1971 Observer 7 Nov. 16/6 Many trade unionists argue that the very existence of wages councils discourages poorer workers from joining trade unions. 1984 Listener 1 Nov. 11/3 The Wages Councils, providing legal minimum wages and conditions for 2·7 million of Britain's lowest-paid workers..are threatened. |
| 1925 Daily Herald 30 June 2/4 (heading) Folly of *wage-cuts. 1974 J. Aiken Midnight is Place iii. 102 Protests about the wage-cut had been nipped in the bud. |
| 1970 Guardian 2 Mar. 1/2 The biggest disagreement is about the effect of *wage demands. |
| 1950 *Wage differential [see differential n. 3 b]. 1957 Observer 6 Oct. 10/2 The pension scheme, by relating superannuation to wages, strengthens the value of wage differentials and hence the incentive to acquire greater skills. 1977 China Now Apr.–May 7/1 They were cutting down wage differentials. |
| 1919 in M. Gilbert Winston S. Churchill (1977) IV. Compan. i. 498 The moment the revolt advanced over the line of a pure *wage dispute, and the strikers were guilty of a serious breach of the law, then was the moment to act. 1955 W. Gaddis Recognitions ii. i. 322 Not written to be played by men in worn dinner jackets,..involved in wage disputes. |
| 1963 Times 22 Jan. 4/6 This is a comparatively rare phenomenon, ‘*wage drift’ in reverse, and reflects increased short time and lower earnings from bonuses, overtime and so on. a 1974 R. Crossman Diaries (1976) II. 703 As for the 3½ per cent ceiling, he told me it was quite unrealistic since wage drift by itself probably comes to 3½ per cent. |
| 1885 Manch. Exam. 20 Feb. 5/1 Trade will always fluctuate, *wage-earners will always suffer as a consequence. |
| 1865 Sat. Rev. 12 Aug. 203 The *wages-earning and beef-eating qualities of the Briton. 1884 Times (weekly ed.) 10 Oct. 7/2 To turn their young children into wage-earning machines. 1902 Edin. Rev. Oct. 402 Education..may do much to..raise the power of wage-earning. |
| 1641 Brome Joviall Crew iv. i. (1652) I 3 b, That she should sleight me, and run away with a *wages-fellow, that is but a petty Cleark and a Serving⁓man. |
| 1928 Britain's Industr. Future (Liberal Industr. Inquiry) ii. xvi. 181 The practical considerations which ought to govern the process of wage-fixing. |
| 1942 *Wage freeze [see freeze n.1 (ii)]. 1967 Spectator 1 Sept. 238/2 The wage freeze has been imposed without a murmur of national strike action. 1980 C. Moorehead Fortune's Hostages v. 104 The President [of Uruguay]..tried to introduce economic restraint by wage freezes. |
| 1848 Mill Pol. Econ. ii. xi. §1. I. 402 There is unfortunately no mode of expressing by one familiar term, the aggregate of what may be called the *wages-fund of a country. 1863 Fawcett Pol. Econ. ii. viii. 241 The remark has frequently been made that the capital of the country provides its wage-fund. This wage-fund is distributed amongst the whole wage-receiving population, and, therefore, the average of each individual's wages cannot increase unless either the number of those who receive wages is diminished, or the wage-fund, which, in other words, may be described as the capital of the country, is increased. |
| 1976 Washington Post 19 Apr. a 23/4 By last spring, some unions were putting in for *wage hikes up to 60 per cent. |
| 1976 Morecambe Guardian 7 Dec. 21/7 One woman waving a placard saying ‘*Wage Inflation’ [etc.]. |
| 1871 Kingsley At Last xvi, Those who cultivate some scrap of ground, or follow some petty occupation, which prevents their depending entirely on *wage-labour. |
| 1957 V. W. Turner Schism & Continuity in Afr. Society v. 135 A man can acquire wealth by working in the White economy as a *wage labourer. |
| 1928 Britain's Industr. Future (Liberal Industr. Inquiry) iii. 139 A wise wage-policy should aim at the highest practicable *wage-levels. 1965 J. Meuvret in Glass & Eversley Population in Hist. xxi. 517 In normal times wage-levels and price-levels were both very low. |
| 1888 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms xxvi, They took up a claim... Then they got a *wages-man to help them, and all four used to work like niggers. 1890 ― Miner's Right iii. 23 One would think I was a wagesman, the way you three coves bosses it over me. |
| 1928 Britain's Industr. Future (Liberal Industr. Inquiry) iii. xvi. 188 It is not even enough that the wage-system should be just in itself; it must be visibly and demonstrably just. And this conception ought to inspire the whole system of *wage-negotiation. 1974 Guardian 23 Jan. 3/1 Today's wage negotiations were conducted with the Frame group. |
| 1951 R. Firth Elem. Social Organiz. iv. 140 One point of view is that the size of the *wage-packet remains the most important factor still in the incentive to work. a 1974 R. Crossman Diaries (1976) II. 638 The trade unionists want to see us spending much less on social services so that there'll be more for wage packets. |
| 1868 Ruskin Time & Tide (1872) 7 This principle of regular *wage-paying. |
| 1923 H. W. B. Joseph Labour Theory of Value in Karl Marx vii. 154 In the absence of definite agreements or enactments, we can produce no rule of universal application, to which *wage-payments ought to conform. |
| 1928 *Wage-policy [see wage-level above]. 1965 New Statesman 9 Apr. 576/3 The principles (but not the practice) of a wages policy. |
| 1946 Sun (Baltimore) 1 Mar. 1/3 The situation, therefore, presents possibilities of a critical test of the administration's new *wage price line. 1958 Engineering 11 Apr. 460/1 There appeared to be no doubt whatever in Lord Cohen's mind that this painful process of breaking the wage-price spiral had to be adopted. 1977 M. Edelman Political Lang. viii. 147 A wage-price freeze from which major industries quickly won exceptions. |
| 1968 Manch. Guardian Weekly 14 Mar. 13 It has become fashionable to say that the British..manage to keep a *wage-push inflation in times of crippling deflation. 1979 Dædalus Spring 53 Other things being equal, the greater the wage push, the tougher and more ‘lesson-teaching’ a policy is necessary to control inflation. |
| 1898 Edin. Rev. Apr. 278 *Wage-rates are..the chief cause of trade disputes. |
| 1963 Punch 20 Mar. 398/2 There must..be a *wage-related contributory insurance system. |
| 1958 Listener 4 Dec. 930/2 Don't think it's a matter of *wage restraint only. 1977 M. Edelman Political Lang. viii. 153 Employers perceive wage restraint by workers as in the public interest. |
| 1930 W. K. Hancock Australia ix. 187 It is apparent that *wage-rigidity is less important in its social consequences than in its economic and psychological consequences. 1983 Economist 18 June 21/3 Some belief in wage-rigidity is deeply rooted in his work. |
| 1960 F. Lynde Quickening 310 His father was deep in the new *wage scale submitted by the miners' union. 1979 Gloss. Terms Work Study (B.S.I.) 27 Wage scale determination, the construction of a scale of wages reflecting the relative values of jobs. |
| 1903 Daily Chron. 9 July 4/4 The cotton spinners..had to diminish their output and the *wage-sheet. 1906 Westm. Gaz. 14 Nov. 10/1 Mr. Farrell quoted figures from his wages-sheet to prove that ability and competence..have to be paid for. |
| 1886 Mallock Old Order Changes II. 29 The hands, as you call them, the poor jaded underfed *wage-slaves. |
| 1886 D. Donohue Let. 21 Oct. in N.Y. Times 24 Oct. 1/5 It is therefore but natural that we should vote for a man who proposes to use his best endeavors to bring about legislation by which *wage slavery and land monopoly shall be abolished. 1903 Dubl. Rev. Oct. 243 The attitude taken up by the Pope..in regard to wage-slavery. |
| 1962 Observer 25 Feb. 23/3 They were working themselves at the *wage-snatch business, with a bit of smash-and-grab on the side. 1964 J. Creasey Look Three Ways at Murder xx. 183 There's a hold-up... Wages snatch! 1977 L. Meynell Hooky gets Wooden Spoon xii. 149 She wasn't doing anything for the police in the wages snatch. |
| 1948 Ann. Reg. 1947 20 A *wage spiral was only prevented by distortion which would soon become intolerable. |
| 1940 Economist 28 Dec. 799/1 The attempt to carry out a *wage stop similar to the price stop had to be abandoned. 1954 E. H. Carr Interregnum 73 This quasi-official wages-stop remained in force throughout 1923. 1963 Guardian 25 Feb. 11/7 If a man is wage-stopped, he will not get anything at all from the increases. 1971 Daily Tel. 16 June 3/3 The wage stop is the system by which men are prevented from drawing more in State benefits than they had earned while in work—even if this means they get less than the commission's official poverty level. |
| 1963 Times 18 Feb. 11/6 To suggest..that all the 15,000 *wage-stopped families were outsize would, on the board's own figures, be plainly absurd. |
| 1955 Ann. Reg. 1954 1 The commission..undertook to make a thorough examination..of the whole *wage structure. |
| 1898 Kansas City (Missouri) Star 18 Dec. 2/1 The ultimate outcome of the labor movement..will be the destruction of the *wage system. 1929 D. H. Lawrence Pansies 75 Ultimately, we are all busy buying and selling one another. It began with Judas and goes on in the wage-system. |
| 1552 Huloet, *Wages takyng, stipendiatus. |
| 1936 J. M. Keynes Gen. Theory Employment iv. 41 The money-wage of a labour-unit we shall call the *wage-unit. 1976 F. Zweig New Acquisitive Society ii. iv. 106 Economic planning which is based primarily on a ‘wage unit’ determined by the planning authorities as the pivot of economic planning. |
| 1902 J. P. Struthers Life & Lett. (1918) 279 They were the chief *wage-winners in the house. |
| 1870 Tennyson Coming of Arthur 417 Dark sayings..echo'd by old folk beside their fires, For comfort after their *wage-work is done. |
| 1888 Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 17 July 2/3 Free trade's bitterest foe is the American *wageworker. |
| 1898 G. B. Shaw Perfect Wagnerite 29 The starving *wage-working class. |
Add:
[4.] wage economy, a system of economic organization (or section of the economy) that is based on the payment of a regular, fixed wage in return for labour;
contr. with
share economy s.v. *
share n.3 6.
| 1971 Cahiers d'{Eacu}tudes Africaines XI. 314 Out of 4 million people in Malawi only 130,000 are in the *wage economy. 1983 N.Y. Times 24 Apr. vii. 14/4 The rise of the national marketplace and of a wage economy strained the old informalities. |
▪ II. wage, v. (
weɪdʒ)
Inflected
waging,
waged. Also 4
wagge, 5–7
wadge (
pa. tense wajed), (5
Sc. vage), 7
waidge.
[ME., a. ONF. wagier, waigier (Central OF. guagier, mod.F. gager: see gage v.):—popular L. type *wadiāre, f. *wadium wage n.] I. To gage, pledge.
† 1. trans. To deposit or give as a pledge or security. Also with
down.
Obs.| c 1320 Sir Tristr. 1011 He waged him aring, Tristram þe batayl toke. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xix. 285 Þat shal delyuery ous som day out of þe deueles powere, And betere wed for ous wagen þan alle we beon worthi. 1458 Forman's Monumt. Christ's Hosp., Abingdon 80 Few folke there were coude that wey wende, But they waged a wed or payed of her purse. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Ago, Ex sponso siue ex sponsu agere,..to sue a man in the action, that is by wagynge downe of a somme of money. a 1585 Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 1453 Implaidging and waidging Baith twa thair lyves for myne. |
† b. To offer as a gage of battle.
Obs.| c 1430 Syr Tryam. 1368 Therfore sche hath takyn a day, Certenly, os y yow say, And waged hur glove for to fyght. |
† 2. fig. To offer (one's oath, etc.) as security for the fulfilment of a promise, etc.
| c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 3264 His othe he waged redilie. 1587 Golding De Mornay xxx. (1592) 476 Or, if he serued not God, how was it possible that the name of God should be waged by a mortall man, against the glory of God? |
† 3. To give pledges or pledge oneself for the fulfilment of (something promised).
Obs.| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. iv. 87 For he haþ waget me a-mendes as wisdam him tauhte. c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 8026 He sent out his Messanger..Trewes to aske, and trewes to wage. c 1400 Ywaine & Gaw. 2172, I said, that i sold find a Knyght That sold me mayntene in my right, And feght with tham al thre, Thus the batayl wajed we. |
† b. with
obj. a clause.
Obs.| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. iv. 84 For Ichul wage for wrong he wol do so no more. c 1400 Ploughman's Tale (Skeat) 1208, I trow they do the devell homage In that they weten they do wrong; And thereto I dare well wage, They serven Sathan for all her song. |
4. spec. in
Law. Now only
Hist. a. to wage battle [
= AF. gager bataille, Law Latin
vadiare duellum]: To pledge oneself to judicial combat:
= gage v. 1 c.
| 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 292 He offered to wage his battayle with the sayde Duke in the court of the French king. 1609 Skene Reg. Maj., Quon. Attach. xxxi. 82 b, It is statute, that the defender sall first wage the battell, and thereafter sweare. a 1625 Sir H. Finch Law (1636) 25 Brothers or cosins shall not wage battell in a writ of right. a 1634 Coke 3rd Inst. lxxii. (1648) 158 In a Writ of right, if the tenant wage battail by his Champion. 1768 Blackstone Comm. III. xxii. 339 When the tenant in a writ of right pleads the general issue,..and offers to prove it by the body of his champion,..the tenant in the first place must produce his champion, who, by throwing down his glove as a gage or pledge, thus wages or stipulates battel with the champion of the demandant. 1819 Act 59 Geo. III, c. 46 §2 From and after the passing of this Act, in any Writ of Right..the Tenant shall not be received to wage Battel, nor shall Issue be joined nor Trial be had by Battel in any Writ of Right. |
b. to wage one's (or the) law (
AF. gager la ley, Law Latin
vadiare legem): (
a) to defend an action by ‘wager of law’ (see
wager n.2 5 a.).
¶ (
b) In erroneous popular use; to go to law (
cf. 10).
| (a) 1455 Rolls of Parlt. V. 326/2 All ye lawes aforesaid so waged and doon. 1456 Paston Lett. I. 407 Gunnore hath waged his lawe of that he haade his day to wage it of, &c. 1523 Act 14 & 15 Hen. VIII, c. 1 §1 In which sute..the Defendaunt or Defendauntes shall nat be admytted to wage ther Lawe. 1531 tr. St. German's Doctor & Stud. i. xviii. 42 Yf the defendaunte wage his lawe in an accyon of dette broughte vpon a trewe dette. 1579 Expos. Terms Law 138 b, Ley gager. Wager of lawe, is when an action is brought agaynst one without especialtye shewed or other matter of recorde,..then the defendaunt may wage his lawe, that is to say, sweare vppon a booke, and certaine persons with him, that he oweth nothing to the plaintife [etc.]. 1611 Cotgr., Venir à la loy, to be receiued, or admitted, vnto the waging of his Law. 1716 W. Hawkins Pleas Crown ii. x. (1726) 61 The Defendant shall not be suffered to wage his Law in any such Action. 1768 Blackstone Comm. III. xxii. 345 It is only in actions of debt upon simple contract, or for an amercement in actions of detinue, and of account, where the debt may have been paid, the goods restored, or the account ballanced, without any evidence of either; it is only in these actions, I say, that the defendant is admitted to wage his law: so that wager of law lieth not, when [etc.]. 1824 Barnewall & Cresswell Cases K.B. II. 538 marg., Where, in debt on simple contract, the defendant waged his law, the Court refused to assign the number of compurgators with whom he should come to perfect his law. |
| (b) 1529 in Mary A. E. Wood Lett. Roy. & Illustr. Ladies (1846) II. 51 If so be there be no way..to obtain it, but only by the common law..I am in that poverty I am not able to wage any law with him. 1538 Starkey England (1878) 117 Oft-tymys the vniust cause preuaylyth, in so much as the one party ys not perauentur so abul as the other to wage hys law. 1548 Cranmer Catech. 62 And in case that at the lenght we haue sentence on our side, yet..we shal, for the most parte, spende more mony in waginge of the law, than we shall gayne by the sentence. 1579 Hake Newes out of Powles (1872) B ij, Or else to worke their neighbors woe, by waging sutes at Lawe. 1622 Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. ii. 325, I wanted money to be able to draw out my thread to it's length, and to wage Law with them. 1625 B. Jonson Staple of N. v. i, I am not able to wage Law with him, Yet must maintaine the thing, as my owne right. |
† c. to wage deliverance:
= gage v. 1 b.
Obs.| 1607 J. Cowell Interpr. s.v. Gage, To wage deliuerance, that is, to giue securitie that a thing shall be deliuered. 1656 Blount Glossogr. s.v. Wage. |
5. To put to hazard, venture or risk the loss of.
| ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 2967, I salle wage for that wye alle that I welde. ? c 1630 Webster App. & Virg. iii. i. (1654) 25 If you will needs wage eminence and state, chuse out a weaker opposite. 1825 Scott Talism. ix, Therefore have you me, and many better Scottishmen, making war against the infidels under your banners... If their numbers are now few, it is because their lives have been freely waged and wasted. |
† b. refl. To throw oneself on the mercy of another.
Obs.| c 1400 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) i. xv. 11 Ther nys leon ne cruel leonesse soo fyers..that theyr malyce attempren..ne wyl..to tho that lowely wyl them seluen wage with meke herte. |
† 6. esp. To agree to forfeit in some contingency; to stake, wager, bet.
Obs.| 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour xviii. b vj, Lete laye a wager, that whiche wyf of vs thre that obeyeth best her husbond..that he wynne the wager: wherupon they waged a jewele. 1598 R. Wrag in Hakluyt's Voy. (1599) II. i. 309 And holding them [the wives and children of their poor tenants] in such slauery as though they had beene no better then dogges, would wage them against a grayhound or spaniell. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 69 The Indians..make no small reckoning of these beastes (..their..Oxen), for they..wil runne a race as fast as any horse:..waging both Gold and Siluer vpon their heads. 1633 Ford Love's Sacrif. i. ii, I dare Wage a thousand Ducats not a man in France Out-rides Roseilli. 1637 B. Jonson Sad Sheph. ii. i, They shall rin after yee, and wage the odds, Upo' their owne deceived sights, yee' are her! c 1640 J. Smyth Lives Berkeleys (1883) II. 386 And hee..being confident shee went with a son, offered to wage with her ten pound to thirty pound, that soe it was. 1674 Ch. & Court of Rome 10 Our Author..wages his reputation in the case. 1704 N. N. tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. II. 222 That famous Timotheus Graecus, who having waged his Beard about the Dispute of a Syllable with Francisco Filelfo, upon the loss of the Wager very willingly submitted to have it cut off. 1719 D'Urfey Pills II. 60 I'd wage a hundred thousand Pounds. 1742 Fielding J. Andrews iii. xii, If I walked alone,..I would wage a shilling that the pedestrian outstripped the equestrian travellers. |
† II. 7. To engage or employ for wages; to hire:
a. for military service.
Obs.| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 3172 [Brenne] waged souders. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xxi. 258 If þei wage men to werre, þei write hem in noumbre. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 333 And I salle wagge to that were of wyrchipfulle knyghtes,..Twa thosande in tale. 1432–50 tr. Higden, Harl. Contin. (Rolls) VIII. 478 Fresche men wagede for men that were sleyne. 1456 Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 148 A man of armes that is wagit with a lord for all the ȝere. 1563 Mirr. Mag., Ld. Rivers liv, For hys defende great store of men I waged, Doubtyng the stormes which at such tymes betyde. 1596 Lodge Wits Misery 86 The Turke..hath alwaies in prest for the war 130 thousand Timariste [sic] (who are waged by lands which the Turke hath giuen them..) he hath beside them 14 thousand Ianisaries, and 36 thousand Spaies, continually waged by mony. 1599 Hayward 1st Pt. Life Hen. IV, 68 Assone as the Duke was come into Brittaine he waged certaine souldiours, and presently departed to Calice. 1623 Bingham Xenophon 1 As for the Grecians, he waged them as secretly as he could, to the intent to take his Brother altogether vnprouided. 1652–62 Heylyn Cosmogr. iv. (1682) 63 He wageth mercenary Souldiers of other Nations. |
| fig. 1607 Shakes. Cor. v. vi. 40 Till at the last I seem'd his Follower, not Partner; and He wadg'd me with his Countenance, as if I had bin Mercenary. |
† b. gen. Obs.| 1465 Paston Lett. Suppl. (1901) 88 If my servauntis faile I had lever wage some other man, for a jorny or a season, thanne my mater should be on sped. 1468 Sir J. Paston in P. Lett. II. 327, I have wagyd for to helpe yow and Dawbeney to kepe the place at Castr, iiij wel assuryd and trew men. 1593 G. Harvey Pierces Super. Wks. (Grosart) II. 98 He..waged Zenophantus to enflame and enrage his courage with the furious notes of Battail. 1601 R. Johnson Kingd. & Commonw. (1603) 234 Mahumetan princes..to secure their estates doe never trust their home-bred subjects, but wage strangers and slaves, unto whose fidelity they commit their persons. 1608 Willet Hexapla Exod. 497 Such things which a man is waged or hired to keepe. |
† c. To bribe.
Obs.| 1461 Rolls of Parlt. V. 478/1 Convened with the same Scotts, procuryng, desiring and wagyng theym to enter. 1549 Latimer 3rd Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 88 Thei will be waged by the rich, eyther to geue sentence agaynste the poore, or to put of the poore mannes causes. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 348 b, The cleargy of Maidenburge..had waged him with great rewards and promesses. 1563–87 Foxe A. & M. (1596) 44/1 Neither could the darke night serue them to that purpose, nor anie intreatie nor waging them with monie, which were appointed for watchmen. 1587 Golding De Mornay xxv. 442 As though Cyrus had bene bent of set purpose to verifie the Prophesie, or as though hee had bene waged by the Prophet. 1603 Florio Montaigne i. xxv. 73 The judgement of a man that is waged and bought. a 1800 Pegge Suppl. Grose, Wag'd, hired, bribed: They wag'd him to do it. North. |
† d. intr. To make an agreement for wages.
Obs.| 1608 Willet Hexapla Exod. 497 He waged with Iakob to keepe his sheep. |
† 8. trans. To put out to hire.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. vii. 18 Thou..must wage Thy workes for wealth, and life for gold engage. |
9. To pay wages to. Now
rare or
Obs.| 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. v. 192 And ich dar legge my lyf that Loue wol lene the suluer, To wage thyne, and help wynne that thow wilnest after. c 1400 Sowdone Bab. 590 Take a thausande pounde of Frankis fyne, To wage wyth the pepul newe. 14.. Customs of Malton in Engl. Misc. (Surtees) 59 Also in pley of lande and als wele wagyd os be fore. 1460 J. Capgrave Chron. (Rolls) 300 Thei were receyved by the duke of Burgundi ful worchipfully, and waged sufficiently. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. lxi. [lxiv.] 79 b, The kynge of Aragon sware and sealed..to sende vnto hym as moche money as sholde wage fyue hundreth speres. 1530 Test. Ebor. (Surtees) V. 288, I will that a prest be wadgyd to pray for the helth of my saull..and to have yerely for his wadges eight marces. 1533–4 Act 25 Hen. VIII, c. 21 §6 The charges of obteynyng the seid licences..and in conductyng of currours and wagyng solicitours..have be grevous and excessive. c 1550 R. Bieston Bayte Fortune A iiij b, Who wageth the seruaunt, who paieth the souldeour. 1552 Latimer Serm. Lincs. v. (1562) 102 At oure tyme, phisike is a remedy prepared only for riche folkes, not for poore: for the poore man is not able to wage the phisicion. 1565 J. Hall Crt. Vertue 138 The laboryng man would for his payn, Be wagde with double hyre, Or els would loyter, and not worke At any mans desyre. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 726 Knowing his treasurie at home to be so voyde and faynt, that it was not able long to wage his Soldiours. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iii. xxii. 112 b, Besides that which is giuen vnto them of almes, they are waged either publikely, or of som in particular. 1640 Sir T. Stafford in Lismore Papers Ser. ii. (1888) IV. 158 There proposition of requiringe 4000li monthlie to wadge there Army. 1823 Scott Quentin D. v, It is an art this French King of ours has found out,..to wage his soldiers out of other men's purses. 1833 I. D'Israeli in New Monthly Mag. XXXVII. 203 The master dresses and wages highly his pampered train. |
† b. Ironically, to reward (for evil).
Obs.| 1412–20 Lydg. Troy Bk. iii. 2419 With his swerd..þoruȝ þe brest, & some þoruȝ þe side He percid haþ, and waged hem for euere. Ibid. 3362 To whom Hector bad he shulde goon To þe furies depe doun in helle,..And þus whan he was wagid for his mede, Anon his broþer..Swiche sorwe made..Þat pite was for to sen and here. |
† c. To pay wages for.
Obs.| 1638 Heywood Wise Woman ii. i, When I receive thee gladly to mine house And wage thy stay, thou shalt have Graciana. |
¶ d. absol. (
fig.) ? To bring reward.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 416 My lorde þe lombe..Corounde me quene in blysse to brede, In lenghe of dayez þat euer schal wage. |
III. 10. To carry on (war, a contest).
Developed from sense 3:
cf. 4 a.
| 1456 Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 255 To vage bataill in lissis.., that is to say in barreris. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 95 b, How bytter, sharpe, and fearfull is the conflicte to wage batayle & fyght with pryde. 1609 Daniel Civ. Wars ii. cxvii. 62 Then hadst not thou, deare Countrie, com'n to wage Warre with thy selfe. 1631 Gouge God's Arrows v. §6. 415 [They] waged many battels valiantly and victoriously. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 121 To wage by force or guile eternal Warr. 1697 Prior A Satire 118 He should be kept from waging War with Words. 1738 Wesley Ps. lvi. i, My Foes continual Battles wage. a 1770 Jortin Serm. (1771) II. 44 It does not follow that Christians may not wage war against their Enemies. 1791 Cowper Iliad xvii. 576 Thou, therefore, the resplendent reins receive..while I, dismounting, wage the fight. 1799 Coleridge Ode to Duchess Devonshire 33 And some, perchance, might wage an equal strife. 1826 J. F. Cooper Last of Mohicans xiii, I had thought the Delawares a pacific people,..and that they never waged war in person. 1840 Dickens Old C. Shop iv, That lady's mother..resided with the couple and waged perpetual war with Daniel. 1845–6 Trench Hulsean Lect. Ser. i. viii. 128 Those..conflicts, which the Church..must one day wage with those forms of untruth. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 633 As they had been levied for the purpose of waging war on an infidel nation, they bore on their flag..the Paschal lamb. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. lxxxii, I wage not any feud with Death For changes wrought on form and face. 1861 Buckle Civiliz. II. iii. 232 How idle, then, is that warfare which reformers are too apt to wage. 1874 Green Short Hist. ii. §7. 95 In his old age he waged his bitterest war against his son. 1887 Bowen Virg. æneid vi. 828 Ah! what battles the twain must wage, what legions array. |
¶ transf. (
nonce-use).
| a 1648 Ess. on Death in Bacon's Remaines (1648) 12, I..could wish that like peace to all those with whom I wage love. |
b. To contend for (a cause).
rare.
| 1839–52 Bailey Festus 65 In Thy name we shall O'ercome, for we will only wage the right. |
† c. intr. in various nonce-uses: To struggle, contend
against; to struggle
through difficulties; to contend in rivalry.
Obs.| 1605 Shakes. Lear ii. iv. 212 No, rather I abiure all roofes, and chuse To wage against the enmity oth'ayre. 1608 ― Per. iv. ii. 34 The commoditie wages not with the daunger. 1656 in Verney Mem. (1907) I. 558 My troubles are many, yet..I indifferently wage through them. 1690 Child Disc. Trade (1698) 187 If there were no others to wage with us, we might..make our own Markets; but as the case now stands, that all the World are striving to engross all the Trade they can [etc.]. |
11. trans. To wield (a weapon, etc.).
rare.
| 1836 Lett. fr. Madras (1843) 17 Mr. Kenrick was mounted on the top of the hay, waging a water-pipe in full play. 1865 Sir J. K. James Tasso's Jerus. Deliv. x. lxix. I. 321 Pagans become, and for our kingdom wage 'Gainst impious Godfred, your avenging swords. |
▪ III. wage obs. form of
wedge.