| 释义 |
▪ I. pay, n.|peɪ|
Also 4 pai, payȝ, 4–7 paie, paye, 5 pey.
[a. OF. paie = Pr. paia, paga, Sp., Pg., It. paga f. the vb. pagare, payer to pay.]
†1. Satisfaction, contentment, pleasure, liking. to pay: to a person's satisfaction, acceptably. Chiefly with possessive: to, at (a person's) pay, as he likes, so as to please him. Obs.
c1300Body & Soul in Maps' Poems (Camden) 334 A body..That havde ben a mody knyȝt, and lutel served God to payȝ. 13..K. Alis. 3796 Yut ye schole, of myn paye, Or Y go hennes, more asay! 13..E.E. Allit. P. A. 1164 Hit watz not at my pryncez paye, Hit payed hym not þat I so flonc. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. vi. 39 For þauh I Sigge hit myself, I serue him to paye, I haue myn hure of him wel, and oþer⁓while more. c1375Cursor M. 22939 (Fairf.) A potter.. quen he his new vessel for-dos & hit be noȝt vn-to his pay. a1425Ibid. 3655 (Trin.) Venisoun þou hast him nomen Deyntily diȝte to his pay [earlier MSS. behoue]. c1430Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 5665 Of hors and armes at his pay The Soudon yave in the same day. a1529Skelton E. Rummyng 395, I dranke not this sennet A draught to my pay. 1602Archpriest Controv. (Camden) II. 4 He answered him not to his pay.
2. a. The action of paying, payment (esp. of wages or hire); with pl., one of the periodical payments of wages to workmen or others.
c1440Promp. Parv. 377/1 Pay, or payment, solucio. c1570R. Turpyn in Chron. Calais (Camden) Introd. 19 Payenge to the said victuallers from paie to paie that was made ther by the quenes majestie their saide sommes of money. 1602Marston Antonio's Rev. iv. v, At the fixed day of pay. 1647N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. i. lxiv. (1739) 133 Rather to score it up against the future, than require present pay. 1865Kingsley Herew. iii, ‘No pay no play’ is as good a rule for priest as for layman. 1872Daily News 2 Oct. 5 The ‘pays’ are the markers in the chronological table of the miner. He refers to a past event as having occurred so many pays back.
b. The condition of being paid, or receiving wages or hire: chiefly in phr. in pay, in receipt of wages; in the pay of, in the paid employment of.
1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. ii. 126 Like enough,..To fight against me vnder Percies pay. 1601R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 168 Armed troopes which he keepeth in continuall pay and action. 1671R. Montagu in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 509 His provisions for sea were already made, his men raised and in pay. 1743Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas Pref. 13 When they were out of Pay, they look'd upon themselves as their own Masters. 1838Thirlwall Greece IV. 197 Unless we should suppose that the murderers were in the pay of Sparta. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. i. xv, People in your pay or employment.
3. concr.
a. Money paid for labour or service; wages, hire, salary, stipend.
c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 262 The kyng þis pay has nomen, and in cofres has. c1430Freemasonry (Halliw.) 23 Whenne the mason taketh hys pay of the mayster. 1590Sir J. Smyth Disc. Weapons Ded. 7 To terrifie their soldiers from demanding of their paies due. 1657Earl of Monmouth tr. Paruta's Pol. Disc. 172 They take their lands and possessions..making Timari thereof..which are Pays or Revenues assigned over to the Soldiers. 1757Jos. Harris Coins 41 Is not their pay..scanty enough already? 1852Thackeray Esmond ii. iii, I take the Queen's Pay in Quin's Regiment.
†b. dead pay: see dead pay. Obs.
†c. (?) A soldier in receipt of pay. Obs.
1523Wolsey in St. Papers Hen. VIII, VI. 189 That the lanceknygtes being not past with the Countie Felix 7000 pays, wer at Porte Sus la Sone.
4. fig.
a. Payment, or that which is paid, in any metaphorical sense; retaliation, punishment or blows inflicted; penalty or retribution suffered; recompense, etc. bestowed. Now rare or Obs.
c1300Body & Soul in Maps' Poems (Camden) 335 Ȝeot schaltouȝ come..and I the with, for to kepen oure harde pay. c1400Ywaine & Gaw. 2476 The geant gaf he ful gude pay, He smate oway al his left cheke. 1590Spenser F.Q. iii. x. 31 Fame is my meed, and glory vertues pay. 1592Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 89 But when her lips were ready for his pay, He winks, and turns his lips another way. 1602― Ham. i. iii. 106 That you haue tane his tenders for true pay.
†b. In early N. Amer. colonial use, any article used as a medium of payment. Obs.
1663Early Rec. Portsmouth, Rhode Island (1901) 118 To sell the tounes cow..for wompom or other pay. 1681Town Rec. Topsfield, Mass. (1917) I. 34/2 Twente pownd of it in siluer forti five pownd in other pay as namli in Corne porke and beefe. 1704S. Knight Jrnl. (1825) 42 Pay is Grain, Pork, Beef, &c. at the prices sett by the General Court that year. 1767in Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. (1912) XLVIII. 75 And if you should purchase light pay, then proceed for Turks island.
5. a. to be good (etc.) pay: to be sure to pay one's debts (colloq.); fig. to be profitable, afford profit.
1727Gay Fables i. x. 64 If you'd employ your pen, Against the senseless sons of men,..No man is better pay than I am. 1809Malkin Gil Blas iii. iii. ⁋ 3 Great men are good pay in the long run, they often marry rich heiresses, and then old scores are wiped off. 1842Poe Murders Rue Morgue Wks. 1864 I. 187 They were excellent pay. 1873Trans. Illinois Dept. Agric. X. 249 Many farmers were very slow pay. 1926J. Black You can't Win iv. 28 They were good pay, but he could not get away from his work at the right hour to find them. 1973R. Thomas If you can't be Good (1974) xii. 103 Everybody in town is falling over each other to give him credit—even though he's a slow pay.
†b. better pay, something more profitable or advantageous; an advantage. Obs.
13..Coer de L. 364 [He] came agayn by another way, And thought to make a better pay. a1330Roland & V. 840 Mine worþ þe raþer pay. 14..Sir Beues (MS. M) 501 He sye, it was no better paye, But shifte hym in the beste way.
6. Mining. A remunerative yield of metal in a bed of ore: cf. pay- 2. Also, one of oil or natural gas. concr., the bed itself.
1857J. D. Borthwick Three Yrs. in Calif. vii. 140 After prospecting a little, we soon found a spot on the bank of the stream which we judged would yield us pretty fair pay for our labor. 1868Rep. J. Ross Browne Mineral Resources West of Rocky Mts. (U.S. Treasury Dept.) 101 In 1866 they struck into pay and erected a 10-stamp mill, which is driven by a hurdy-gurdy wheel. 1877Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 91 It is in this stratum of 40 feet where the rich pay will be found. 1882Rep. to Ho. Repr. Prec. Met. U.S. 105 Brown & Co. work a sluicing claim with good results. William George, just below, has lately got good pay. 1933E. Caldwell God's Little Acre i. 2 I've been digging in this land close on fifteen years now, and..I figure we're going to strike pay pretty soon. 1975[see pay zone s.v. pay- 2]. 1977R. E. Megill Introd. Risk Analysis ix. 107 Every oil or gas field has a certain areal size, a thickness of the producing formation and a recovery per foot of pay.
Comb.: see pay- in combination, 2.
7. Short for paymaster. slang.
1878F. Davenport On Man-of-War 114 While the boy went forward after the steward, Pay regarded the omelet gloomily. 1914‘Bartimeus’ Naval Occasions xxiii. 216 Give it a shake, Pay, and put it on like a man! 1916‘Taffrail’ Pincher Martin x. 173 Cashley, the fleet pay⁓master, was vainly endeavouring to get up a four at auction bridge... ‘Going to take a hand?’..‘Bridge,..not to-night, Pay; thanks, all the same.’ 1942[see boffin 1]. 1944K. D. McCracken Baby Flat-Top 57 The Head of the Supply Department is known universally as ‘Pay’.
▸ orig. Mil.pay and rations: the wages, provisions, and other supplies allotted to a soldier for military service. In extended use: (Brit.) the remuneration package, consisting of money, bonuses, and other benefits, offered by an employer.
1776Jrnl. Proc. Provinc. Congr. N. Carolina 25 The Officers and Soldiers of said companies shall be allowed the same pay and Rations as Officers and Soldiers on the continental Establishment. 1841Jrnl. Royal Geogr. Soc. London 11 145 The Hamadán regiment was encamped here, and was loud in its complaints relative to pay and rations. 1939Jrnl. Mod. Hist. 11 124 He is skeptical of the success of an all-Indian army and feels that there are large areas in India where it would be difficult to raise a soldier worth his pay and rations. 1956Times 24 Jan. 9 There are at present in England 15 regional officers of the Arts Council. From next April..there will be seven..regional officers attached to headquarters for pay and rations. 1999C. Hood Regulation inside Govt. iv. 87 That transformation took the public auditor out of direct Treasury control of ‘pay and rations’ into the hands of a Parliamentary Public Accounts Commission. 2007Mondaq Business Briefing (Nexis) 21 Aug. HR..was a dynamic function that could look after an organisation and deliver much more than pay and rations.
▪ II. pay, v.1|peɪ|
Pa. tense and pple. paid |peɪd|. Forms: 3–5 paie(n, paye(n, (3 paiȝe, 4 pai, 5 payȝe, 5–6 pey), 4–7 paie, paye, 4– pay. pa. tense paid, in senses 13, 14 payed; 3–6 payde, paide, 4–6 Sc. payit. pa. pple. paid, in senses 13, 14, payed; 4 paȝed, 4–6 payde, 5 -id, 5–6 Sc. -it; also 3–4 with prefixed i-, 3–6 y-, (5 ypayt).
[ME. a. F. payer (12th c. in Littré) to pay, in OF. also to appease, satisfy, please (so in Cotgr. 1611) = Pr., Sp., Pg. pagar, It. pagare:—L. pācāre to appease, pacify, reduce to peace, in med.L. also ‘to pay’, f. pāx, pāc-em peace. The sense ‘pacify’, applied specifically to that of ‘pacify or satisfy a creditor’, came in Com. Romanic to mean ‘to pay a creditor’, and so ‘to pay’ generally. In some of the Romanic langs. the vb. has still both senses; but in Fr. as in Eng. the sense ‘satisfy, please’ is now obs.]
†1.
a. trans. To appease, pacify, satisfy, content, please, gratify; to be acceptable to, gain or meet with the approval of: = apay 1. Most freq. in pa. pple. Satisfied, content, pleased; also strengthened by well; so ill paid, displeased, dissatisfied. Obs.
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 179 And ȝiet ne wile þe louerd ben paid mid his rihcte mol. a1225Ancr. R. 318 Þus I souhte delit: hwu I mest muhte paien mine lustes brune. c1275Lay. 10535 Þis ihorde þe kaiser And him paide swiþe wel. a1300Cursor M. 7814 Wel he wend wit þis tiþing For to pai dauid þe king. 13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1379 How payez yow þis play? c1430Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 7558 The long terme did hir not pay To abide so long the mariage. c1440Promp. Parv. 377/2 Payyd, and qvemyd, or plesyd, placatus. c1460Towneley Myst. ii. 244 Luke well..that thou negh not the tree of life; ffor if thou do, he bese ill paide. 1496Dives & Paup. (W. de W.) vii. iv. 280/2 Poore folke be not payed with suffycyent lyuynge but couete more than theym nedeth. 1501Douglas Pal. Hon. ii. vii, I held me payit of thair estait.
†b. intr. To be satisfactory or pleasing (to). Obs.
c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 49 Þat spirit..þe which is verrili kyndelid wiþ þe fier of þe Holy Goost, to þe which..no passing þing paieþ, but al fleshli lust..loþiþ and is viile to it. c1460Towneley Myst. xx. 198 My profer may both pleas and pay To all the lordys.
2. a. trans. To give to (a person) what is due in discharge of a debt, or as a return for services done, or goods received, or in compensation for injury done; to remunerate, recompense.
c1250O. Kent. Serm. in O.E. Misc. 33 Se sergant..so paide þo werkmen and yaf euerich ane peny. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. iv. 61 Him for his handidandi Rediliche he payede. 1456Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 135 The marchand salbe payit of his hors. 1590Shakes. Com. Err. i. ii. 56 Sixe pence that I had..To pay the Sadler for my Mistris crupper. 1625Massinger New Way iv. ii, I will pay you in private. 1710Swift Lett. (1767) III. 69 Tell me how accounts stand between us, that you may be paid. 1813M. Edgeworth Patron. iii, He had been..paid by the job. 1833H. Martineau Brooke Farm v. 62, I expect they will pay me..for the outlay.
b. to pay off (rarely pay up): to pay in full and discharge; to give all that is owing to and thus settle accounts with; spec. to pay and discharge the crew of (a ship) upon completion of a commission. to pay out: to get rid of by paying.
1710Steele Tatler No. 143 ⁋1, I..desired her to pay off her Coach, for I had a great deal to talk to her. 1758J. Blake Plan Mar. Syst. 23 They shall..be paid off, and discharged. 1809Malkin Gil Blas iii. ix. ⁋1 The establishment was paid up and discharged. 1836Marryat Midsh. Easy xi, The ship to which he had been appointed was paid off. 1836–9Dickens Sk. Boz, Broker's Man, The money was raised, and the execution was paid out. 1887D. C. Murray Old Blazer's Hero ix, The Man in Possession had been paid out.
c. to pay off (intr. for passive, of a ship: see b).
1891Daily News 27 July 5/4 The Thrush..will then go to Cowes and afterwards to Chatham, where she will pay off. 1896Ibid. 21 Aug. 2/5 The Meteor..is to pay off immediately and proceed to lay up.
d. not if you paid me, him, etc.: under no circumstances; not at all.
1896Kipling Seven Seas 153 He couldn't lie if you paid him, and he'd starve before he stole! 1910E. M. Forster Howards End xxiv. 201, I couldn't live near her if you paid me. 1952M. Allingham Tiger in Smoke iv. 67, I shan't sleep, you know, I couldn't if you paid me. 1959M. Summerton Small Wilderness i. 8 Six months ago I was all set to read law, now I wouldn't go back to swotting if you paid me. 1979R. Jeffries Murder begets Murder iii. 19, I wouldn't stay on here if you paid me to. The moment I've sorted everything out I'm off.
3. fig. or gen. To reward, recompense, requite, give what is due or deserved to (a person).
a. in good or neutral sense.
a1425Cursor M. 5789 (Trin.) Say I shal hem soone pay. 1484Caxton Fables of æsop i. xix, Thenne is the tyme come that he must be payed of his Werkes and dedes. 1610Shakes. Temp. ii. i. 37 So: you'r paid. a1774Goldsm. tr. Scarron's Com. Romance (1775) II. 232 He was sure to be paid on the double in treats for his condescension. 1898H. Paul Men & Lett. (1901) 170 Mr. Place and his associates, to adopt a French phrase, payed themselves with words.
b. in malam partem: to give (one) his deserts, visit with retribution, chastise, punish. Formerly often pay home (home adv. 5); later also pay off, and in mod. colloq. use pay out. to pay any one in his own coin: see coin n. 7 b.
a1450Knt. de la Tour (1868) 90, Y canne not telle you the halff of her cruelte..But she was paied..atte the last. 1567J. Maplet Gr. Forest 101 b, If any man come neare hir behinde she payeth him home. 1582N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. i. xlvi. 102 b, He would paye him for all his faigned lyes. 1707Curios. in Husb. & Gard. 242 He pays off Aristotle and his Followers with too violent a Zeal. 1863[see back adv. 8]. 1863Cowden Clarke Shaks. Char. viii. 198 They, in return, (as the vulgar phrase has it,) ‘pay him out’. 1888J. Hawthorne Trag. Myst. iii, They would bear Hanier a grudge..and would plot together to pay him off. 1893Earl Dunmore Pamirs II. 252 The only way..was to pay them back in their own coin. 1914D. H. Lawrence Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd iii. 66 He'd say to himself he'd pay me out. That's what he always does say, ‘I'll pay thee out for that bit—I'll ma'e thee regret it.’ 1940G. D. H. & M. Cole Counterpoint Murder v. 51 He told Best to do it just in order to annoy him, to pay him out. 1951M. Kennedy Lucy Carmichael i. v. 36 I'm paid out for saying I wouldn't have a wreath. I thought a sort of vague cloud round my head would look nice. 1978J. Thomson Question of Identity xiii. 140 It was his way of paying out Maguire for giving him the push.
c. spec. To inflict bodily chastisement upon, beat, flog. Now dial. or slang.
1581W. Fleetwood in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. i. II. 285 Yet were they all sowndly payed, and sent home to there masters. 1667Pepys Diary 22 Apr., Thence home, and find the boy out of the house and office..I did pay his coat for him. a1806in R. Jamieson Pop. Ball. I. 329 There I paid her baith back and side, Till a' her banes play'd clatter. 1825Brockett N.C. Gloss., Pay, to beat, to drub. ‘The rascal pays his wife’. 1899F. T. Bullen Log Sea-waif 312 He had been paying somebody with the ‘fore-topsail sheet’.
4. To give a recompense for, to recompense, reward, requite (a service, work, or action of any kind): in a good or bad sense. Also, of a thing, To yield a recompense for, to reward.
14..Sir Beues 158/3381 + 2 (MS. M) Youre service I wyll well payn! c1586C'tess Pembroke Ps. lxii. v, Lord,..each mans work is paid by thee. 1603Shakes. Meas. for M. v. i. 415 Haste still paies haste. 1610― Temp. v. i. 70, I will pay thy graces Home both in word, and deede. 1642J. Shute Sarah & Hagar (1649) 178 The Sin of Oppression, sure enough, will be payed home, either here, or in hell, or in both. 1748Chesterfield Lett. (1774) I. 347 It will more than pay the trouble I have taken to write it. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. ii. i, ‘I hope it's a good business?’..‘No. Poorly paid’. 1868G. Macdonald Gospel Women ix. i, Enough he labours for his hire; Yea, nought can pay his pain.
5. a. To give, deliver, or hand over (money, or some other thing) in return for goods or services, or in discharge of an obligation; to render (a sum or amount owed). Also with double obj. or dat. of person (‘I paid him the money’), and hence in indirect passive (‘he was paid the money’ = ‘the money was paid to him’). Also transf.: cf. 6 b.
a1225Ancr. R. 290 Hire wurð þet he paide uor hire. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 10244 Sixe & sixti þousend marc hii paiden him atten ende. a1300Cursor M. 6745 Qua stelis scep, or ox, or cu,..Oxen fiue for an he pai. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xiii. 381 He profred to paye A peny or tweyne More þan it was worth. c1410Love Bonavent. Mirr. ix. (Sherard MS.), Whan Joseph hadde payed þe money for hym. 1526Tindale Matt. xviii. 29 Have pacience with me, and I will paye the all. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. iii. 201 The Monie is paid backe againe. a1692H. Pollexfen Disc. Trade (1697) 12 He will pay but Sixteen Shillings of the Pound. 1771Junius Lett. xlix. 256 Every shilling of it was scrupulously paid. 1848Thackeray Gt. Hoggarty Diam. xii, That in which poor Mr. Tidd invested his money did not pay 2d. in the pound. 1885Times (weekly ed.) 11 Sept. 9/2 Irish wool that had never ‘paid the King a farthing’.
b. With advbs. to pay away, pay in, pay over, pay out, etc. pay down: to lay down (money) in payment; to pay immediately or on the spot (also fig.: see 7).
1557in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford (1880) 265 Payeng vijli done. 1623Nottingham Rec. IV. 383 Alexander Staples shalbe made burgesse paying x.li. downe in hand. 1668in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 61 Paying over the third part of the profits. 1722De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 60 He had paid in all the money. 1809R. Langford Introd. Trade 95, I was to have paid away your note tomorrow. 1878Jevons Prim. Pol. Econ. vi. §41. 50 He has already paid out a large sum as wages. 1885Manch. Exam. 21 July 5/2 They had to pay down one-fourth of the price in ready cash. a1901Besant Five Years' Tryst (1902) 38 Now, sir,..I pay over to you..the sum of {pstlg}178. 4s. 10d.—here it is. 1951R. W. Jones Thomson's Dict. Banking (ed. 10) 468/2 Paying-in slips may also contain a notice requesting customers to cross all cheques before paying them in. 1961New Eng. Bible Matt. xvii. 27 Take the first fish that comes to the hook, open its mouth, and you will find a silver coin; take that and pay it in; it will meet the tax for us both. 1978N. J. Crisp London Deal v. 93, I didn't pay that money in, and no one else paid it in..and handed me the slip.
c. to pay with the fore-topsail: to leave port without paying one's debts or creditors. Naut. slang.
1843J. F. Cooper Ned Myers 149 We sailed next morning, and I paid for the poor ‘nigger’ with the foretopsail. 1850H. Melville White Jacket I. ii. 5 The middies were busy raising loans to liquidate the demands of their laundress, or else—in the navy phrase—preparing to pay their creditors with a flying fore-topsail. 1910D. W. Bone Brassbounder 262 Paid 'ee wi' tawps'l sheets, didn't 'e? 1929F. C. Bowen Sea Slang 101 Pay debts with the fore topsail, to slip away to sea in debt.
6. a. To give or hand over the amount of, give money in discharge of (a debt, dues, tribute, tithes, ransom, fees, hire, wages, etc.).
c1380, etc. [see debt n. 1]. 1382Wyclif Matt. xvii. 23 Ȝoure maister payeth nat tribute? c1386Chaucer Prol. 539 Hise tithes payde he ful faire & wel. 1413Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) iv. xiii. 63 It passeth his power to payen his raunson. 1448Paston Lett. I. 69 He hath payd hys feys. 1522Skelton Why not to Court 245 They were nat payd their hyre. Ibid. 250 Theyr wages were nat payde. 1611Bible Ezra iv. 13 Then will they not pay tolle, tribute, and custome. 1748Smollett Rod. Rand. xxxv, I have..paid scot and lot and the King's taxes. 1883Froude Short Stud. IV. ii. ii. 180 The prices which we paid for everything were preposterous. 1889Harper's Weekly XXXIII. 984/2 The..Company..was able to pay dividends.
b. transf. Of a thing: To furnish or yield (money, etc.) for the discharge of (a debt or other obligation); also said of goods on which duty, toll, or the like is paid.
1656B. Harris Parival's Iron Age (1659) 204 Parliament..gave him but two subsidies; which would hardly pay Advance money to the Officers and souldiers. 1818Cruise Digest (ed. 2) II. 468 That this estate should be liable to pay these debts. 1840Marryat Olla Podr. (Rtldg.) 325 Everything must pay toll. 1868Morris Earthly Par. I. 555 Cups that had paid the Cæsar's debt Could he have laid his hands on them.
c. With advbs. to pay off: to pay in full, and thus discharge the obligation; to clear off (a debt or claim) by payment (also fig., see 7). to pay up: to pay the full amount of (what is) owing up to the time; to make up arrears of payment; also absol.
1434Rolls of Parlt. V. 437/2 The residue to be paied up to the Kyng. 1711Budgell Spect. No. 150 ⁋9 I'll pay off your extravagant Bills once more. 1766W. Gordon Gen. Counting-ho. 27 If..he should voluntarily pay up the abatement. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xvii. IV. 71 Arrears were paid up. 1885Law Rep. 29 Chanc. Div. 459 To enable the directors to pay off pressing liabilities. 1941J. D. Carr Case of Constant Suicides xiv. 190 The insurance companies would have been compelled to pay up. 1972Daily Tel. 13 Jan. 13/3 More than 100,000 TV licence bilkers have paid up since an anti-evasion campaign was launched last October. 1978N. Marsh Grave Mistake ii. 43 I'm always having to yank him out of trouble... I'll go on paying up, I suppose.
7. fig. (or in figurative expressions): To give or render (anything owed, due, or deserved); to discharge (an obligation). (Also, with double obj. or dat. of person, and hence in indirect passive: cf. 5.)
a. To give, render (something that is due, or that the other person has a right to); to discharge, perform (a vow); to give up, surrender (something figured as owed, e.g. one's life). to pay one's debt to nature, or pay nature's debt: (spec.) to die: see debt n. 4 b.
1340–70Alex. & Dind. 716 A fair pokok of pris men paien to iuno. c1386Chaucer Merch. T. 804 Whan he wolde paye his wyf hir dette. c1435Torr. Portugal 162 A-mendes the be-hovythe to pay. 1611Shakes. Wint. T. v. i. 3 You haue..indeed pay'd downe More penitence, then done trespas. c1611Chapman Iliad ii. 247 Nor would [they] pay Their own vows to thee. 1657R. Ligon Barbadoes (1673) 10 Our stomachs told us, it was full high time to pay Nature her due. 1697Dryden Virg. Past. vi. 40 To you the promis'd Poem I will pay. 1707Watts Hymn, Praise, everlasting praise, be paid To him that earth's foundation laid. 1878Browning La Saisiaz 117 Paying piteous duty, what seemed you have we consigned [to the grave].
b. To inflict, bestow, give (punishment, a blow, etc.) as being deserved, or in return for the like; to render in retribution or retaliation.
13..Coer de L. 4028 Kyng Richard hys ax in hond he hente, And payde Sarezynys her rente. a1533Ld. Berners Huon lxxxiv. 265 Y⊇ traytours were payed ther desertes. 1627Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. xiii. 60 Hee payes vs shot for shot. a1716South Serm. (1727) V. xii. 482 If Popery ever comes in by English Hands..it will fully pay the Scores of those who brought it in. 1888J. Hawthorne Trag. Myst. iii, To pay off some grudge.
c. To suffer, undergo (a punishment, penalty, etc., figured as a price paid to the person or authority that inflicts it; also, pain or trouble, as a price paid for some advantage); to suffer in retribution or requital, or as the price of anything gained.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 77 But he hadde i-leide doun his knyf,..boþe schul have i-payde þe payne. 1587Mirr. Mag., Rimar vi, Made mee pay the price of pillage with my bloud. 1615Chapman Odyss. v. Argt., Ulysses builds A ship;..Pays Neptune pains. 1674Brevint Saul at Endor 214 Christ..took and paied fully all the punishment due for our sins. a1716South Serm. (1727) V. i. 5 Inflaming themselves with Wine, till they come to pay the Reckoning with their Blood. 1890Spectator 15 Feb., To forget the pain he paid for his discoveries.
d. Arith. In Subtraction, To compensate for ‘borrowing’ (see borrow v.1 1 c) by mentally adding a unit to the subtrahend of the next higher denomination (an easier practical equivalent for the more logical process of subtracting the unit which has been ‘borrowed’ from the minuend). Usually to pay back.
1897Daily News 3 June 5/4 When some of us were boys at school we knew no other way of doing a sum in subtraction but the way of borrowing and paying back.
8. (With the notion of debt weakened to that of duty or fitness, or lost.) To render, bestow (something considered as due, deserved or befitting, e.g. attention, heed, respect, court, a compliment, a visit, etc.). Usually with to or simple dat.
1590Shakes. Mids. N. v. i. 99 Not paying me a welcome. 1654–66Earl of Orrery Parthen. (1676) 381, I went..to pay her a visit. 1711Addison Spect. No. 122 ⁋5 After having paid their Respects to Sir Roger. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xvi, Farmer Williams..had paid her his addresses. 1796E. Parsons Myst. Warning II. 222 The Gentlemen paid her many compliments. 1866Duke of Argyll Reign Law vii. (1871) 386 Too little attention being paid to the progress of opinion. 1882Besant Revolt of Man vi. (1883) 152 They paid little heed to the sermon.
9. absol. or intr. To give money or other equivalent in return for something or in discharge of an obligation; also fig.: see prec. senses.
a1300Cursor M. 14040 Þai had noght quar-of for to pai. c1386Chaucer Reeve's T. 213 Get vs som mete and drynke,..And we wil payen trewely atte fulle. 1535Coverdale Ps. xxxvi[i]. 21 The vngodly borroweth and paieth not agayne. 1650N. Wallington Hist. Notices (1869) I. Introd. 49 Serve honesty ever,..she will pay, if slow. 1657Heylin Undeceiv. People 4 If any..desired not to pay in kinde. a1786Cowper Yearly Distress 19 He that takes, and he that pays. 1855Dickens Dorrit ii. xiii, ‘Now, then!..Pay up!’ 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 205, I will pay when I have the money.
b. to pay in: to make (regular) contributions to a fund.
1911Rep. Labour & Social Conditions in Germany (Tariff Reform League) III. 71 Men must pay in to the trade society to which they transfer their labour. Ibid. 82 Employees..commence to pay into State fund when 16 years old.
10. absol. or intr. Of a thing or action: To recompense one's expense or trouble; to yield an adequate return; to be profitable or advantageous. Also to pay out.
1812H. & J. Smith Rej. Addr., Rebuilding, The work⁓men..thought it would not pay To dig him out. 1830Gen. P. Thompson Exerc. (1842) I. 200 If land is uncultivated, it is because it will not pay. 1885Anstey Tinted Venus iv. 44 You won't find it pay in the long run. 1909‘O. Henry’ Roads of Destiny xii. 193 Nobody in the bank knows those notes as I do. Some of 'em are a little wobbly on their legs, and some are mavericks without extra many brands on their backs, but they'll most all pay out at the round-up.
b. trans. To be profitable to, profit (a person).
1883Manch. Exam. 19 Dec. 5/2 A practice of insuring with a view to wreck would not pay the shipowning community.
c. to pay off: to succeed; to be profitable or advantageous; to show results.
1951R. Malkin Boxcars in Sky 118 It was the Big Briefing which, eventually, would pay off in plenty of free space outside the advertising columns. 1953J. Wain Hurry on Down iv. 73 Like a good many insane actions, it paid off. 1957Listener 7 Nov. 757/1 Still, the cool piece of blackmail and bluff paid off. 1959Ibid. 4 June 969/2 There are signs, already, that this policy of patience is paying off. 1962A. Shepard in Into Orbit 104, I could feel that all the training we had gone through with the blockhouse crew and booster crew was really paying off down there. 1967Technology Week 23 Jan. 61/1 (Advt.), Our aim is to make current space hardware and experience pay off for the national space program. 1971R. Dentry Encounter at Kharmel ix. 150 Your hunch had better pay off. The Tal's the last possibility. 1978T. Allbeury Lantern Network viii. 93 By mid-May the training had begun to pay off.
11. to pay for:
a. To give money or other equivalent value for; to hand over the price of (a thing); to bear the cost of; to recompense (labour or service) in money or otherwise. Also transf. Of a thing, sum of money, or other thing of value: To furnish or constitute an equivalent for; to be sufficient to buy or defray the cost of.
1362Langl. P. Pl. A. iii. 132 Heo..leteþ passe prisons, and payeþ for hem ofte. Heo ȝeueþ þe Iayler Gold and grotes.., To vn-fetere þe False. c1386Chaucer Prol. 834 [He] shal paye for al þat by the wey is spent. 1534More Comf. agst. Trib. ii. vi. (1847) 105 To take no thought, but make merry..and then let Christ's passion pay for all the shot. a1616Beaumont To J. Fletcher, It was thy hap to throw away Much wit, for which the people did not pay. 1804M. Edgeworth Pop. T., Will ii, The bonnet's all I want, which I'll pay for on the nail. Mod. Half a crown will pay for a front seat. The fowls will soon pay for themselves in eggs.
b. fig. To make amends for, atone for; more usually, To suffer or be punished for (cf. 7 c).
1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xvii. 31 Operis satisfactio þat for synnes payeth. 1533Gau Richt Vay 69 God..laid al our sinnis apone hime and he payit for thayme. 1612Bp. Hall Contempl., O.T. ii. v, Lot payes deare for his rashnesse. 1706E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 94 He's resolv'd never to be a Rogue, when he's sure to pay for it. 1900London Letter 23 Feb. 286/2 An attendant.., who wantonly prodded it with a fork..paid for his cruelty, as he was knocked down, trampled upon, and ripped open by the elephant.
12. a. trans. = pay for: see 11.
1656Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. ii. lxi. (1674) 213 Their Liberty..cannot be paid by Mountains of Gold. 1744S. Fielding David Simple II. v. 79 She immediately paid her Lodging. 1842Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. III. ii. 185 Chalking land..costs little more than 2l. per acre; pays itself often in the second year.
b. fig. To compensate, make up for. ? Obs.
1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 5 The beimes of the Sone..the hail nychte ar sein, the space of twa monethis... Contrare in winter,..the lenth is payed with the schortnes. 1625Ussher Answ. Jesuit 171 If Montanus comes short in his testimonie, Origen..payes it home with full measure. 1738Swift Pol. Conversat. 31 Miss says nothing; but I warrant she pays it off with Thinking. 1790Bystander 246 Hermocrates was..silent, but..he paid it off with thinking.
13. Naut.
a. (trans.) To let out (a rope or chain) by slackening it, to allow or cause to run out. (Also in reference to something let out by the rope.) Now always with out or away. Also transf.
1627Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. vii. 30 Pay more Cable, is when you carry an Anchor out in the boat to turne ouer. Pay cheap, is when you ouer set it, or turne it ouer boord faster. 1710J. Harris Lex. Techn. II. s.v., Seamen say Pay more Cable, that is, let out more Cable. 1769Falconer Dict. Marine (1789), Pay away the Cable! slacken it, that it may run out of the ship. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §143 We paied out the Hawser by which we were riding; at the same time paying out the hawser of the catch-anchor. 1840R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xv. 41 ‘Pay out chain’, shouted the Captain, and we gave it to her. 1871L. Stephen Playgr. Eur. (1894) iii. 84 By..throwing all my weight on to the rope, I gradually got myself paid slowly out. 1962H. Hood in R. Weaver Canad. Short Stories (1968) 2nd Ser. 211 He paid out a little string and began to run across the parking lot towards the main building. 1976D. Clark Dread & Water ii. 52 ‘Roped together?’ ‘Just like the book says... He went first and I payed out... I hadn't enough hands to cling tightly and pay out the rope’.
b. intr. for pass.
1840R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxiii. 68 We paid out on the chain by which we swung.
14. Naut.
a. (trans.) To cause (a ship) to fall to leeward, or fall away from the wind. Now always with off.
1627Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. ix. 42 As she turnes wee say shee is payed. 1830Marryat King's Own xiii, The commander..payed his vessel off before the wind. 1884Sir J. Hannen in Law Times Rep. L. 127/2 Her master was vainly trying to pay her head off to the eastward.
b. intr. for pass. To fall to leeward.
1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. ii. 19 The Chase pays away more room. [Cf. infra, The Chase goes away room..she is right before the Wind.] 1825H. B. Gascoigne Nav. Fame 51 By slow degrees her head to Port Pays round. 1836Marryat Midsh. Easy xxvi, The frigate flew round, describing a circle, as she payed off before the wind. 1899F. T. Bullen Log Sea-waif 213 There was a great bustle to get sail off her, but unfortunately she paid off rather smartly.
15. In various phrases, as the devil to pay, god pays or to pay, to pay through the nose, to pay the piper, to pay one's way: see these ns.
▸ pay cable n. Broadcasting (orig. U.S.) a cable television service available on a subscription basis.
1971N.Y. Times 30 Mar. 71/3 *Pay cable TV might deprive the poorer of programs they now see for nothing. 1975Economist (Nexis) 27 Sept. 76 The primary attraction offered by pay cable is fairly new movies. 2000Fortune (Electronic ed.) 9 Oct. Recently Icebox sold a sci-fi spoof..to the pay-cable network Showtime.
▸ pay channel n. Broadcasting a television channel for which viewers pay a subscription fee (freq. in contrast to those channels provided at no extra cost on payment of a basic subscription fee to a cable or satellite television service).
1958New Statesman 12 Apr. 455/2 The pay-television experiment was to be tried out only in areas that provided at least three free channels for one *pay channel. 1977Business Week (Nexis) 21 Nov. 154 Telecinema..lets subscribers choose programs at different prices on four pay channels. 1996Economist 20 July 20/1 Bidding wars..are often fought between public broadcasters and new upstarts, many of them pay channels; and they are usually about soccer.
▸ pay-per-view n. and adj. Broadcasting (orig. U.S.) (designating) a system of television broadcasting in which viewers pay a fee to watch a particular programme (usually a film or a sporting event); abbreviated PPV; cf. pay-as-you-view n. and adj.
1978TVC May 79 (advt.) Introducing Tocom III... With add-on capabilities from *Pay-Per-View TV to all the ‘Blue Sky’ services. 1978Business Week (Nexis) 17 July 32 Important research data indicating the income potential of pay-per-view cable television. 1978Variety 9 Aug. 67/2 TeleMine will offer the show..to various subscribers to the local cable systems it serves, on a pay-per-view basis. 1995Economist 22 Apr. 82/2 These extra channels will allow pay-TV companies to offer..‘pay-per-view’, where customers are charged for individual programmes such as boxing or football matches. 2000Independent (Electronic ed.) 19 Oct. A meeting of Premier League chairmen in London today will demand to be told why a Pay-Per-View television deal worth {pstlg}328m due to begin next August has collapsed.
▸ pay-and-display n. Brit. designating, relating to, or operating a system of car parking in which the driver buys a ticket for a specified period of time and displays it in the car while it is parked.
1970Traffic Engin. & Control 409 (advt.) Enforcement + revenue when you install the *Pay and Display system, on-street/off-street, pioneered by the Universal Parking Meter Co Ltd. 1989A. Aird Good Pub Guide 1990 350/2 Only parking is in pay and display car park. 2000Observer (Electronic ed.) 13 Aug. I was trying to buy a ‘pay and display’ ticket for my car when an unkempt man came and stood in front of the machine.
▪ III. pay, v.2 Chiefly Naut.|peɪ|
Pa. tense and pple. payed (paid).
[a. ONF. peier (= Central F. poier, poyer) = Pr., Sp. pegar:—L. picāre, f. pix, pic-em pitch; cf. It. peciare.]
trans. To smear or cover with pitch, tar, resin, tallow, or the like, as a defence against wet, etc.
1627Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. ii. 13 Okum..being well payed ouer with hot pitch, doth make her more tight. 1720De Foe Capt. Singleton ii. (1840) 30 Hemp, pitch and tar, to calk and pay her seams. 1831W. Irving Columbus (abr. ed.) 307 Drawing his canoe on shore..he then payed it with a coat of tar. 1853Sir H. Douglas Milit. Bridges 180 Above these were laid stalks of the cotton-plant and loose grass; the whole being payed over with clay.
b. With the covering substance as object.
1894C. N. Robinson Brit. Fleet 231 Broad-headed nails hammered in close together, on which was paid a compost of tallow and resin. |