Etymologically
Log in

payday

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 26 October 2026 at 03:20. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /ˈpeɪdeɪ/[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from English pay + day.[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A day on which payment is made, especially the regular day on which wages are paid: 1529, in a letter of J. Whalley.[2][6] Etymonline glosses the early word as the day when payment was due or debts were to be settled.[3]

Semantic evolution

Johnson (1755) defined it as the day on which debts are discharged or wages paid, quoting Locke on labourers who live on credit until the next payday.[5] On the stock market it came to mean the day on which a transfer of stock has to be paid for (1858),[2] Merriam-Webster's settlement day.[6] In the 20th century it was used in the navy for the wages themselves, a use recorded from 1906 and now rare;[2] since 1970 it has also meant a large financial reward or windfall, especially prize money in sport.[2]

Timeline

  • 1529 – a day on which payment is made, especially the day wages are paid.[2][6]
  • 1755 – Johnson: the day on which debts are discharged or wages paid.[5]
  • 1858 – on the stock market, the day a transfer of stock is paid for.[2]
  • 1906 – in the navy, wages, the sum paid on payday (now rare).[2]
  • 1970 – a large financial reward, a windfall.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The day on which wages or salary are regularly paid.[6][7][2]
  2. On the stock market, the settlement day on which bought stock must be paid for.[6][2]
  3. A large windfall or financial reward, as prize money in sport.[2]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  6. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster