UNWAGED NOUN (PEOPLE AND SOCIETY)

Of a person: unemployed, not currently earning a wage. Often as a collective noun, in the form the unwaged: unemployed people and non-earners considered as a group. Etymology: Formed by adding the prefix un- to waged; the adjective unwaged had existed since the sixteenth century in the sense 'not recompensed with wages' (of work), but was not applied to people until the early eighties. History and Usage: This is a term of the eighties which has often been interpreted as a euphemism for 'out of work', but which is actually designed to recognize the contribution and financial difficulties of other groups (such as full-time mothers) whose work goes unpaid in our society. The cost will be ø2 per line for waged persons or ø1 per line for those who are unwaged. Library Association Record (Vacancies Supplement) 30 Nov. 1982, p. cxlviii Dream analyst Sophia Young's workshop is at the Koestler Foundation, 484 King's Road, World's End, Chelsea on June 23, from 2pm to 6pm. It is free to the unwaged, and ø3 for others. Guardian 19 June 1990, p. 21