wage

[ weyj ]
/ weɪdʒ /

noun

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

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

Obsolete. to contend; struggle.

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

SYNONYMS FOR wage

5 undertake, prosecute.

OTHER WORDS FROM wage

wage·less, adjective wage·less·ness, noun un·der·wage, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH wage

salary wages

Example sentences from the Web for wages

British Dictionary definitions for wages

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 of wage

wageless, adjective wagelessness, 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

Cultural definitions for wages

wages

Payment for services to a worker, usually remuneration on an hourly, daily, or weekly basis.