wage English · revision 5267

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=a. 1338|origins=frk *wadja}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /weɪdʒ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|wage]], [[bor|fro-nor|wage|t=pledge, pay]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from Frankish *wadja- or another Germanic source; compare Gothic wadi “pledge” and Old English wedd.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Standard Old French had gage, so that [[gage]] is a doublet of wage.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) It is related to [[wed]] and [[wager]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A pledge, security, and the amount paid for work: before 1338 in Mannyng's Chronicle according to Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline has “payment for services, reward” about 1300, and the OED a pledge or security from 1183.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A soldier's pay is from 1338,^(OED 1989) and the plural ''wages'' from 1377, in Piers Plowman,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) formerly often with a singular verb, as in ''the wages of sin is death''.^(OED 1989) A challenge to fight is from about 1400.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The Old English word for wages was lēan, related to [[loan]].^(Etymonline) Traditionally, wages were paid for manual work and were distinguished from a salary or fee.^(Etymonline) The verb, to give as a pledge, is from 1376,^(Barnhart 1988) to offer a pledge of battle from about 1430,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and to carry on a war from 1456 (the mid-15th century in Etymonline).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1183 – a pledge.^(OED 1989)

+ * a. 1338 – payment for work.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1377 – ''wages''.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1430 – to pledge oneself to battle.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1456 – to carry on a war.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An amount of money paid regularly, usually every week, for work.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(plural, formal)'' A reward or result: ''the wages of sin''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(economics)'' The part of national income paid for labour.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To carry on a [[war]] or campaign.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[wageless]]

+ * [[wagelessness]]

+ * [[underwage]]

+ * [[wageworker]]

+ * [[minimum wage]]

+ * [[wage scale]]

+ * [[living wage]]

+ * [[wage earner]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[wager]]

+ * [[gage]]

+ * [[wed]]

+ * [[engage]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Scottish and south-western dialect, wage also meant to wager or bet.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}