wag 
2. A fellow: used with a shade of meaning 
sometimes shirring, sometimes affectionate, but 
without any attribution of humor or pleasantry. 
[CoUoq. and archaic] 
But mildly and calmly shew how discredit reboundeth 
upon the authoi-s, as dust flieth back into the wag's eyes 
that will needs be puffing it up. 
O. Harvey, Four Letters, Pref. 
And, with the Nymphs that haunt the silver streames, 
Learne to entice the affable young waggr. 
Hei/wood, Fair Maid of the Exchange (Works, II. 66). 
My master shall . . . make thee, instead of handling 
false dice, flnger nothing but gold and silver, wag. . . . 
Wilt be secret? 
Dekker and Webster, Northward Ho, lii. 2. 
Let us see what the learned wag maintains 
With such a prodigal waste of brains. 
Longfellow, Golden. Legend, vi. 
wage (wiij), )(. [< ME. waoe, < OF. wage, (juage, 
gage = Pr. gatge, gatglw, gaji = Sp. gage = It. 
gaggio, a gage, pledge, guaranty: »ee gage^, «.] 
It. A gage; a pledge; a stake. 
But th' Elfln knight, which ought that warlike wage. 
Disdained to loose the meed he wonne in fray. 
Spenser, l\ Q., I. Iv. 39. 
2. That which is paid for a service rendered ; 
what is paid for labor; hire : now usually in the 
plural. Sometimes the plural form is used as a singular. 
In common use the word wages is applied specifically to 
the payment made for manual labor or other labor of a 
menial or mechanical kind ; distinguished (but somewhat 
vaguely) from salary (which see), and from fee, which de- 
notes compensation paid to professional men, as lawyers 
and physicians. 
I am worthy noon odyr wage. 
But for to dwelle in eendeles woo. 
Polilieal Poems, etc. (ed. FurnivaU), p. 174. 
The wages of sin is death. Kom. vi. 23. 
Since thou complainestof thy service and wagen, be con- 
tent to go back, and what our country will afford I do here 
promise to give thee. Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress, i. 
With a wage usually from twenty to twenty-five shil- 
lings a weelc Nineteenth Century, XXII. 401, 
One of the last matters transacted was the issue of the 
writs to the sheriffs and borough magistrates for the pay- 
ment of the wages of the representatives in the house of 
commons. Stubbs, Const. Hist., § 447. 
Real wages, in polit. econ, , wages estimated not in money 
but in tlicir purchasing power over conmiodities in gen- 
eral: tlie articles or services which the money wages will 
purchase. = Syn. 2. Pay, Hire, etc. See salary^. 
wage (wfg), v.; pret. and pp. waged, ppr. wag- 
ing. [< ME. wagen, < OP. xoager, waigier, giia- 
ger, gayer, gagier, F. gager — Pr. gatgar, gatjar, 
< ML. wadiare, pledge: see gage''-, v., and cf. 
ii-trfl.] I. trans. It. To pledge; bet; stake on 
a chance ; lay ; wager. 
A certcine friende of yours . . . had waged with your 
honour a certcine wager. 
Gmcara, Letters (tr. by Hellowes, 1677), p. 136. 
I dare wage 
A thousand ducats, not a man in France 
Outrides Roseilli. Ford, Love's Sacrifice, i. 2. 
A new truth ! Nay, an old newly come to light ; for error 
cannot wa(je antiquity witli truth. 
liev. T. Adams, Works, I. 472. 
The tenant in the flret place nmst produce his cham- 
pion, who by throwing down his glove as a gage or pledge 
thus wages or stipulates battle with the champion of the 
demandant. Blackstone, Com., III. xxii. 
2t. To ventui-e on; hazard; attempt; encounter. 
To wake and wage a danger profitless. 
Shak., Othello, i. 3. 30. 
3. To engage in, as in a contest; caiTy on, as 
a war; undertake. 
The second Ijattell was waged a little after Vespasian 
was chosen Empeiour. Coryat, Crudities, I. 139. 
Wliat need X wage 
Other contentious arguments, when I 
By this alone can prone noe Dietie ? 
Times' Whistle (E. E. T. S.), p. 6. 
I am not able to tvage law with him. 
B. Jon.'<on, Staple of News, v. 1. 
4t. To let out for pay. 
Tliou that doest live in later times must wage 
Thy workes for wealth, and life for gold engage. 
Spenser, F. Q., II. vii. 18. 
5. To hire for pay; engage oremploy for wages. 
[Obsolete or prov. Eng.] 
And yf thei wage men to werre thei wryten hem in 
nnmbre ; 
W(j1 no trcserour take hem wages, trauayle thei neuere so 
sore. 
Bote [unless) bij beon nempned in the numbre of hem that 
ben yicaged. Piers Plowtaan (C), xxiii. 259. 
Alexander in the meane season, hauing sent Cleander 
towrt.'/« menne of warre out of Peloponese, . . . remoued 
his army to the Citic of Celenas. 
J. Brende, tr. of Quintus Curtius, ill. 
The cutler prefers to vegetate on his small earnings than 
to go as a waged lab<jurer in a "house." 
Nineteenth Century, X.XIv'. ;,W>. 
6t. To pay wages to. 
I would Iiavc them well waged for their labour. 
hatimi-r, .'itb Sermon bef. Edw. VI., 1549. 
6800 
At the last 
I seem'd his follower, not partner, and 
He waged me with his countenance, as if 
I had been mercenary. Shak., Cor., v. 6. 40. 
7. Incer«/H.,toknead, work, or temper, as pot- 
ters' clay To wage one's law, in old Eng. law, to come 
forward as a defendant, with others, on oath that he (the 
defendant) owes nothing to the plaintiff in manner as he 
has declared. See wager. 
II. intrans. 1. To contend; battle. [Bare.] 
I abjure all roofs, and choose 
To wage against the etmiity o' the air, 
To be a comrade with the wolf and owl, 
Shak., Lear, ii. 4. 212. 
2. To serve as a pledge or stake for something 
else ; be opposed as equal stakes in a wager ; 
be equal in value : followed by with. [Rare.] 
The commodity wages not with the danger. 
Shak., Pericles, iv. 2. 34. 
wagedom (waj'dum), n. [< wage + -dom.'\ The 
method of paying wages for work done. [Rare.] 
I'he employer of labour pockets the whole of the incre- 
ment of value, leaving to the labourers only what they had 
to start with — viz. , their own bodies, plus the cost of their 
maintenance during the process, and a small allowance for 
wear and tear. . . . Such is the modern system of wage- 
dom. Westminster Rev., CXXVI. 136. 
wage-earner (wai'er'ner), n. One who receives 
stated wages for labor. 
Radical manufacturers and traders . . . have no more 
thought for tlie condition of the wage-earners who produce 
this profit than a Southern planter had for the religious 
welfare of his gang of slaves. 
Nineteenth Century, XXVI. 738. 
wage-fund, wages-fund (waj'fund, wa'jez- 
fund), 71. In polit. econ., that part of the total 
productive capital of a country or community 
which is employed in paying the wages of la- 
bor, as distinguished from the part invested in 
buildings, machinery, raw materials, etc. See 
the quotations. 
Wages, then, depend mainly upon the demand and sup- 
ply of labour, or, as it is often expressed, on the propor- 
tion between population and capital. By population is 
here meant the number only of the labouring class, or 
rather of those who work for hire ; and by capital only 
circulating capital, and not even the whole of that, but 
the part which is expended in the direct purchase of la- 
bour. To this, however, must be added all funds which, 
without forming a part of capital, are paid in exchange 
for labour, such as the w^es of soldiers, domestic servants, 
and all other unproductive labourers. There is unfortu- 
nately no mode of expressing by one familiar term the ag- 
gregate of what may be called the wages/und of a country ; 
and, as the wages of productive labour form nearly the 
whole of that fund, it is usual to overlook the smaller and 
less important part, and to say that wages depend on pop- 
ulation and capital. It will be convenient to employ this 
expression, remembering, however, to consider it as ellip- 
tical, and not as a literal statement of the entire truth. 
J. S. Hill, Pol. Econ., IL xi. 1. 
As I understand this passage Ifrom Mill's " Pol. Econ. 'T, 
it embraces the following statements : 1st, Wages-fund is 
a general term, used, in the absence of any other more fa- 
miliar, to express the aggregate of all wages at any given 
time in possession of the laboring population ; 2nd, on 
the proportion of this fund to the number of the laboring 
population depends at any given time the average rate of 
wages ; 3rd, the amount of the fund is determined by the 
amount of the general wealth which is applied to the di- 
rect purchase of labor, whether with a view to productive 
or to unproductive employment. If the reader will care- 
fully consider these several propositions, I think he will 
perceive that they do not contain matter which can be prop- 
erly regarded as open to dispute. Tlie first is little more 
than a definition. . . . The second merely amounts to say- 
ing that the quotient will be such as the dividend and di- 
visor determine. The third equally contains an indispu- 
table assertion ; since, whatever be the remote causes on 
which the wages of hired labor depend, . . . the proximate 
act determining their aggregate amount must in all cases 
be a direct purchase of its services. In truth, the demand 
for labor, thus understood, as measured by the amount of 
wealth applied to the direct purchase of labor, might more 
correctly be said to be, than to determine, the Wages-fund. 
It is the Wages-fund in its inchoate stage, differing from 
it only as wealth just aliout to pass into the hands of la- 
borers differs from the same wealth when it has got into 
their hands. 
J. E. Cairns, Some Leading Principles of Political 
[Economy Newly Expounded, II. i. § 5. 
wagelingt, «• [< V)age + -ling^.'] A hireling. 
These are the very false prophets, the instruments of 
Satan, the deceivers, wolves, wagelings, Judases, dreamers, 
liai-s. Bj). Bale, Select Works, p. 439. (Davies.) 
wagen-boom, «. [D.. < wagen, wagon, -I- hoom, 
tree (= E. beam).'] Same as wagon-tree. 
wageourt, ". [< ME. rcagen, wage : see wage.l A 
hired soldier. Barbour, Bruce, xi. 48. (Strat- 
mann.) 
wageouret, «. An obsolete form of wager. 
wager (wa'jer), 11. [< ME. wageoure, wajour, < 
(^F. "wat/eure, gageure, a wager, < wager, pledge, 
wager: see wage,v.'] 1. A pledge; a gage; a 
guaranty. 
A wajour he made, so hit wes ytold, 
Ys hcved of to smhyte, yef me him brohte in hold. 
Exeeiition of Sir Simtin Fraser (Cliili's Ba.lUis, VI. 279). 
2. Something hazarded on an uncertain event; 
a stake. By statutes of England, Scotland, and most if 
waggery 
not all of the United States, all contracts or agreements, 
whether by parole or in writing. Involving wagers are 
null and void, and the wager or money due thereon caimot 
be recovered in any court of law. A wager is therefore 
merely a debt of honor, and if paid it is in the eye of the law 
the same thing as giving a gratuity, except perhaps as to 
the liability of a principal to reimburse his agent when the 
latter has paid it because in honor bound. 
Ne waiour non with hym thou lay, 
Ne at the dyces with hym to play. 
Babees Book(E. E. T. S.), p. 306. 
Hot. Content. What is the waj/cr^ 
Luc. Twenty crowns. 
Shak., T. of the S., v. 2. 69. 
A wager is a promise to pay money, or transfer property, 
upon the determination or ascertainment of an uncertain 
event ; the consideration for such a promise is either a 
present payment or transfer by the other party, or a prom- 
ise to pay or transfer upon the event determining in a 
particular way. Anson, Contr., 166. 
3. The act of betting; a bet. 
Well make a solemn wager on your cunnings. 
Shak., Hamlet, iv. 7. 156. 
4. That on which bets are laid ; the subject of 
a bet. [Rare.] 
The sea strave with the winds which should bee louder, 
and the shrouils of the ship, with a gastful nois to them 
that were in it, witnessed that their ruin was the wager 
of the other's contention. Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, it 
5. In old Eng. law, an offer to make oath of 
innocence or non-indebtedness ; also, the act of 
making such oath, the oaths of eleven compur- 
gators being conjoined as fortifying the defen- 
dant's oath Wager of battle or battel. See batilei. 
— Wager of law, an old English mode of trial, whereby 
in an action of dclit l)rought upon a simple contract be- 
tween the parties, without any deed or record, the defen- 
dant might discharge himself Ijy taking an oath that he 
did not owe the plaintiff anything. He was required, how- 
ever, to bring with him eleven of liis neighlwrs, called com- 
purgators, who were to avow upon their oath that they 
believed in their consciences that he declared the truth. 
—Wager policy. See policy^. 
wager (wa'jtr), v. [< wager, Ji.] I. trans. 1. 
To hazard on the issue of a contest, or on some 
question that is to be decided, or on some casu- 
alty; bet; lay; stake. 
I . . . wager'd with him 
Pieces of gold. Shak., Cyinbeline, v. 5. 182. 
"What will you wager. Wise William?" 
"My lands 111 wad with thee." 
iJeedwdate and Wiie William (Child's Ballads, Vin. 88). 
2. To make a wager on; bet on: followed by 
a clause as object : as, I wager you are wrong. 
We have a maid in Mytllene, I durst wager. 
Would win some words of him. 
Shak., Pericles, v. 1. 43. 
II. intrans. To make a bet; offer a wager. 
Well put on those shall praise your excellence, 
. . . bring you in fine together, 
And wager on your heads. Shak., Hamlet, iv. 7. 135. 
But one to wager with, I would lay odds now. 
He tells me instantly. B. Jonson, Volpone, iv. 1. 
wager-cup (wa'jer-kup), H. An ornamental 
piece of plate used as a prize for a race or simi- 
lar contest. 
wagerert (wa'j^r-fer), n. [< wager -I- -eri.] 
One who wagers or lays a bet. 
Desire your wagerer from me to be more cautions in de- 
termining on such matters, and not to venture the loss of 
his money and credit with so much odds against him. 
Swift. 
wagering (wa' jer-ing), p. a. Of or pertaining 
to wagers; betting — 'Wagering policy. SeepUicy^. 
wages-fund, «. See wage-fund. 
wages-man (wa'jez-man), «. One who works 
for wages. [Rare.] 
If we don't make a rise before that time we shall have 
to become wages-men. 
Rolf Boldrewood, The Miner's Claim, p. 60. 
wagett, ". See watcliet. 
wage-work (waj'werk), n. Work done for 
wages or hire. 
Their fires. 
For comfort after their wage-work is done. 
Tennyson, Coming of Aitbur. 
wage-worker (waj'wfer''k6r), n. One who works 
for wages. 
A civilisation which overtasks or underpays wage-work- 
ers, . . . this, truly, is not a civilisation for any conscien- 
tious thinking man to be prond of. Lancet, 1891, 1. 464. 
waggel, «. See wagel. 
waggert, f. i. [< ME. wageren, wagren (= Icel. 
vagra,vaggra — Haldorsen), reel, stumble; freq. 
of wag^. Cf. waggle.'] To reel; stumble; stag- 
ger. Wyelif, Eccl. -^11. 3. 
waggery (wag'er-i), M. [< wag"^ -I- -erl -I- -yS.] 
The acts and words of a wag; mischievous 
merriment ; waggishuess. 
He did by the Parliament as an Ape when he hath done 
some waggery. Selden, Table-Talk, p. 97. 
It left Lrom no alternative but to draw upon the funds 
of rustic waggery in his disiwsition. 
Irving, Sketch-Book. p. 4,14. 
