wage

Etymology 1

From Middle English wage, from Anglo-Norman wage, from Old Northern French wage, a northern variant of Old French gauge, guage (whence modern French gage), Medieval Latin wadium, from Frankish *waddī (cognate with Old English wedd), from Proto-Germanic *wadją (“pledge”), from Proto-Indo-European *wedʰ- (“to pledge, redeem a pledge”). Akin to Old Norse veðja (“to pledge”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌳𐌹 (wadi), Dutch wedde. Compare also the doublet gage. More at wed.

noun

1. (often in plural) An amount of money paid to a worker for a specified quantity of work, usually calculated on an hourly basis and expressed in an amount of money per hour.
   Before her promotion, her wages were 20% less.

Etymology 2

From Middle English wagen (“to pledge”), from Anglo-Norman, Old Northern French wagier, a northern variant of Old French guagier (whence modern French gager), itself either from guage or from a derivative of Frankish *waddī, possibly through a Vulgar Latin intermediate *wadiō from *wadium.

verb

1. (transitive, obsolete) To wager, bet.
2. (transitive, obsolete) To expose oneself to, as a risk; to incur, as a danger; to venture; to hazard.
3. (transitive, obsolete) To employ for wages; to hire.
4. (transitive) To conduct or carry out (a war or other contest).
   Setting our sights back on King’s Landing, where the Last War will be waged, makes a lot of sense, even if it does feel a bit anticlimactic after last week’s deadly, blustery maelstrom. 5 May 2019, Danette Chavez, “Campaigns are Waged On and Off the Game Of Thrones Battlefield (Newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2021-01-28
   pond'ring which of all his Sons was fit / To Reign, and wage immortal War with Wit 1709, John Dryden, Mac Flecknoe
5. (transitive) To adventure, or lay out, for hire or reward; to hire out.
6. (obsolete, law, UK) To give security for the performance of