n. & v.
--n.
1. (in sing. or pl.) a fixed regular payment, usu. daily or weekly, made by an employer to an employee, esp. to a manual or unskilled worker (cf. SALARY).
2 (in sing. or pl.) requital (the wages of sin is death).
3 (in pl.) Econ. the part of total production that rewards labour rather than remunerating capital.
--v.tr. carry on (a war, conflict, or contest).
Phrases and idioms:
living wage a wage that affords the means of normal subsistence. wage-claim pay-claim (see PAY(1)). wage-earner a person who works for wages. wages council a board of workers' and employers' representatives determining wages where there is no collective bargaining. wage slave a person dependent on income from labour in conditions like slavery.
Etymology: ME f. AF & ONF wage, OF g(u)age, f. Gmc, rel. to GAGE(1), WED