pay English · revision 2305

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1200 (Ancrene Riwle)|origins=la pāx}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /peɪ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|paien]], [[bor|fro|paiier|t=to pay]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) from [[la|pācāre|t=to pacify, appease]], in Medieval Latin “to satisfy a creditor, pay”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) from [[m|la|pāx|t=peace]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(Klein 1966) The idea of payment grew from that of pacifying a creditor.^(NODE 1998)^(Cresswell 2021)^(SOED 2002) The noun is [[inh|enm|paie]], partly from the verb and partly [[bor|fro|paie]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To please or satisfy; to pay money: probably before 1200, in the ''Ancrene Riwle''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The AHD explains that it is not the payer's peace that matters: Latin ''pāx'' also meant “a settlement after war”, so ''pācāre'' was “to impose a settlement”, then “to appease”, and Old French ''paiier'' came to mean “to satisfy a creditor”.^(AHD 2000) Romance languages generally took over the sense “to pay”, and in English, as in French, “to please” died out, by 1500.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) “To suffer (a punishment)” is from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) From the 1580s ''pay'' was used where little obligation is meant, as in ''pay attention'', ''pay a compliment'',^(Etymonline) and “to be profitable” is from 1812.^(Etymonline) ''Pay up'' first meant “to make up a difference” (mid-15th century), and “to pay in full” by 1911.^(Etymonline) The noun first meant “satisfaction, liking” (about 1300),^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and “wages” from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) ''Payment'' dates from about 1375,^(Barnhart 1988) ''payday'' from 1529, ''payee'' from 1758 and ''paycheck'' from 1904, in O. Henry.^(Barnhart 1988) ''You pays your money and you takes your choice'' comes from a ''Punch'' cartoon of 1846.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1200 – verb, to please, satisfy; to pay.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – noun, satisfaction.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1375 – ''payment''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 14th century – wages; to suffer a penalty.^(Etymonline)

+ * by 1500 – the sense “please” dies out.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1529 – ''payday''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1580s – ''pay attention''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1758 – ''payee''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1812 – to be profitable.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1904 – ''paycheck''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To give money in return for goods or services.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To settle a [[debt]] or obligation.^(AHD)

+ # To suffer a penalty or cost: ''pay for one's mistakes''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To be profitable or worthwhile.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To give or offer: ''pay attention'', ''pay a visit''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To reward or punish; to [[requite]].^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # Money given for work done; [[wage|alt=wages]] or [[salary]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # The act of paying, or the state of being paid.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # Paid employment: ''in the pay of''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Requiring payment to use: ''pay television''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[copay]]

+ * [[overpay]]

+ * [[payable]]

+ * [[payola]]

+ * [[prepay]]

+ * [[repay]]

+ * [[underpay]]

+ * [[pay-as-you-go]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[peace]]

+ * [[pacify]]

+ * [[pact]]

+ * [[appease]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A second verb ''pay'', “to coat (a ship's seams) with pitch or tar”, is a separate word from obsolete French ''peier'', from Latin ''picāre'', from ''pix'' “pitch”.^(AHD 2000)^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986) It is dated 1610 by Merriam-Webster's Unabridged^(MWU 2024) and the early 17th century by the New Oxford.^(NODE 1998) RHWU calls ''pay'' the general word for money given for services, ''wage'' or ''wages'' pay by the hour, day or week, ''salary'' a fixed sum for regular work, usually reckoned by the month or year, and ''stipend'' a periodic payment for special services or a grant for creative or scholarly work.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}