# wage

Pronunciation: say "WAYJ" /weɪd͡ʒ/

## Noun

1. Money paid to a worker for a specified quantity of work, usually calculated by the hour.
   - Simple: Money paid to a worker for the work they do, often counted by the hour.
   - _The new contract raised the minimum wage by two dollars an hour._
   - _Many workers saw their wages frozen during the recession._

## Verb

2. To fight a war or pursue a campaign or other sustained struggle.
   - Simple: To carry on a war or other long struggle.
   - _The rebels waged a guerrilla campaign across the mountains._
   - _Activists wage a long fight to protect the wetlands._
3. To lay out or offer something for hire or reward; to hire out.
   - Simple: To put something out for hire in exchange for payment.
   - _The stable owner waged his fastest mounts to wealthy hunters._
   - _They wage their boats to fishermen during the busy season._

## Verb

4. To employ someone for wages; to hire. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To hire someone and pay them to work for you.
   - _The merchant waged several porters to carry his goods to the coast._
   - _Nobles would wage soldiers to defend their castles._
5. To stake money or goods on an uncertain outcome; to wager or bet. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To put up money or goods as a bet on the result of something.
   - _The gambler waged his entire purse on the final hand._
   - _Reckless lords would wage estates on a single throw of the dice._
6. To put oneself in the way of a risk or danger, accepting the chance of harm. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To risk something by putting yourself in the way of danger.
7. To give security or a guarantee for the performance of an obligation. *(obsolete, UK)*
   - Simple: To promise and guarantee that something will be done.

## Origin

**Meaning 1** — This came through Middle English and Anglo-Norman from Old Northern French wage (a northern form of Old French gauge, source of modern French gage) and Medieval Latin wadium, from Frankish *waddī, from Proto-Germanic *wadją ("pledge"), from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to pledge." It is related to Old English wedd and is a doublet of gage.
**Meanings 2–7** — This came from Middle English wagen ("to pledge"), through Anglo-Norman and Old Northern French wagier, a northern variant of Old French guagier (source of modern French gager), which came either from guage or from a derivative of Frankish *waddī, possibly through a Vulgar Latin form *wadiō.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/wage (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).