Wage

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /weɪd͡ʒ/

Definitions

1. A financial payment made to an individual for their professional efforts or services rendered offers monetary return for hours worked
2. Money paid regularly to a person for performing work or services
3. Compensation earned by an individual as a result of their employment

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "wage" is that it began as a pledge rather than a payment. The Germanic ancestor of the word meant something given as security, a deposit that guaranteed a promise would be kept. Early Medieval Latin preserved this sense in "wadium," a pledge handed over to bind an agreement, and the same root gave English the verb "to wage" in its old meaning of putting a stake on something. The word reached English through Anglo-Norman and a northern variant of Old French, where it appeared as "wage" alongside "gage," a doublet that kept the pledge sense more visibly. Over time the idea of security given against a promise shifted toward the promise itself: a payment pledged in exchange for work. That is why "wage" and "gage" share a common ancestor, one having drifted toward payment and the other staying closer to its original sense of a guarantee.

Synonyms: salary, pay, income, remuneration, compensation

Antonyms: debt, loss, expense, cost, outlay