payn.
/peɪ/, U.S. /peɪ/ I. Senses not involving financial satisfaction or transfer.† 1. Satisfaction, pleasure, liking. Obsolete.(to do something) to pay: (to do something) satisfactorily, acceptably. to (also at, of) one's pay: to one's satisfaction or requirements; in one's judgement or opinion.
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the mind > emotion > pleasure > quality of being pleasant or pleasurable > such as to please one [phrase]
to payc1300
to (also at, after, in) a person's likingc1330
to pleasure1439
to a person's zest1818
the mind > emotion > pleasure > contentment or satisfaction > [adverb] > so as to content or satisfy > to one's satisfaction
to one's willOE
a-willc1275
at a person's willc1300
fillc1300
to payc1300
at, to greec1374
with or upon one's wish or wishes1390
agreea1425
at wisha1525
to (one's) wish (rarely wishes)1586
to one's heart's content1600
wishfully1607
c1300 Body & Soul (Laud Misc. 108) (1889) 25 A body..Þat havede ben a mody knyȝt And lutel served god to payȝ.
c1330 in Englische Studien (1886) 9 48/1 (MED) We sscholden seruen swete Jesus To his paie and to his wille.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 5524 (MED) Þouȝh þe metur be nouȝt mad at eche mannes paye, wite him nouȝt þat it wrouȝt.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vi. 1208 (MED) What thing unto his pay Was most plesant, he lefte non.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) 22939 Quen he [sc. a potter] his new vessel for-dos & hit be noȝt vn-to his pay.
c1430 in Jrnl. Eng. & Germanic Philol. (1907) 7 107 (MED) Pyis, vnplesaunt to myn pay..iangeledyn & made gret difray.
a1450 Generides (Pierpont Morgan) (1865) 5665 (MED) Of hors and armes at his pay The Soudon yave him the same day.
a1500 Life St. Alexius (Titus) (1878) 27 (MED) All that comyn thyder þat daye, theye were seruyd welle to paye.
a1529 J. Skelton Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng in Certayne Bks. (?1545) 395 I dranke not this sennet A draught to my pay.
1602 in T. G. Law Archpriest Controv. (1898) II. 4 He answered him not to his pay.
1603 Thre Prestis of Peblis (Charteris) (1920) 48 I can nocht get a freind ȝit to my pay.
2. † b. With modifying adjective (in quots. only with better): an outcome, a result, an advantage. Obsolete.
a. Payment for a moral debt incurred; reward, recompense; deserts. Chiefly in negative sense (frequently ironic): retaliation, punishment; a penalty. In later use in plural (British regional): blows, strokes; a thrashing.
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the world > action or operation > behaviour > reciprocal treatment or return of an action > [noun] > requital or repayment > that which is repaid
payc1300
waryeldc1480
c1300 Body & Soul (Laud Misc. 108) (1889) 39 Ȝeot schaltouȝ come..and i þe wiþ, For to kepen oure harde pay.
c1330 Roland & Vernagu (Auch.) (1882) 840 Rouland answerd, ‘nay, Mine worþ þe raþer pay’..& wiþ a strok ful large He clef þe sarrazins targe.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 1235 (MED) Þe lif sone he les þat lauȝt ani dint, & euer þan drow he to þe duk deland swiche paye.
a1400 Twelve Profits of Tribulation (Royal) in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 55 (MED) What so þou suffris for god, hit is acountid of god in paye of þi dett.
a1425 (?c1350) Ywain & Gawain (1964) 2476 (MED) Þe geant gaf he ful gude pay; He smate oway al his left cheke.
a1500 (c1400) Vision of Tundale (Adv.) (1843) 1092 (MED) Thei seyd, ‘habbuth ȝowr wel here yowr pay; Kest ye hom hydour, lett vs a say.’
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. iii. 106 That you haue tane these tenders for true pay . View more context for this quotation
1609 Spenser's Faerie Queene (new ed.) iii. x. sig. P4 Fame is my meed, and glory vertues pay.
1670 in J. W. Draper Cent. Broadside Elegies (1928) No. 51. 113/2 Here let him lye till muster day, That he with them may have his pay.
1821 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 18 Aug. 4/2 His mistress, in pay for the motherly solicitude evinced by him..filled his nest with upwards of twenty fresh ones [sc. eggs] from the common dung-hill fowl.
1868 G. Webster Strathbrachan Hospitality III. xii I'll gie you your pays for frightening me.
1896 S. Tynedale Stud. No. v Those ‘pays’ for which the infants had been watching were never given.
1974 S. Dobson Geordie Dict. 46/1 If ye dinna stop bairn, ye'll get yor pays, aa can tell ye.
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the world > action or operation > advantage > [noun] > an advantage, benefit, or favourable circumstance
advantagec1330
commodity?a1439
strengthc1440
paya1450
purchasec1450
prize1595
profita1616
usefulness1660
use value1844
a1450–1509 (?a1300) Richard Coer de Lyon (A-version) (1913) 364 (MED) Rycharde wondred..That he set his stroke at nought And came agayne by another waye And thought to make a better paye.
a1500 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Chetham) l. 501 And he sye, it was no better paye, But shifte hym in the beste way.
II. Senses involving financial transfer, and related uses.† 5. North American. Goods used as a means of payment. Obsolete.
3. † b. Perhaps: a soldier in receipt of pay. Obsolete. rare.
a. concrete. Money, or a sum of money, paid for labour or service; wages, salary, stipend; remuneration.See also dead pay n., half pay n.
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society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > [noun]
hirec1000
shipec1000
shipingc1275
servicec1300
soldc1330
wage1338
payment1370
reward1371
pay?a1400
mercedec1400
remunerationc1400
souldie1474
emolument1480
soldery1502
stipend?1518
entertainment1535
task-money1593
consideration1607
gratuitya1637
wadage1679
addling1757
solde1852
treatment1852
screw1853
time1877
money1887
wage payment1923
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 262 (MED) The kyng þis pay has nomen & in cofres has.
?a1425 in D. Knoop & G. P. Jones Mediæval Mason (1933) 266 Whenne the mason taketh hys pay Of the mayster.
a1450 (?a1390) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) 1092 Ȝef þow be a seruaunt..Hast þow trewely by vche way Deseruet þy mete & þy pay?
1543 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1908) VIII. 231 Monethlie peyis of gunnaris.
1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons Ded. 7 To terrifie their soldiers from demanding of their paies due.
1646 H. Mill 2nd Pt. Nights Search 16 The Chirurgeon comes to seek his pay.
1657 Earl of Monmouth tr. P. Paruta Politick Disc. 172 They take their lands and possessions..making Timari thereof..which are Pays or Revenues assigned over to the Soldiers.
1757 J. Harris Ess. Money & Coins 41 Is not their pay..scanty enough already?
1794 G. Colman Mountaineers i. i. 6 When large pay is given for high employment, 'tis the head man's care to take the money, and the deputies to do the work.
1844 U.S. Mag. & Democratic Rev. Aug. 185/2 Nowhere is the third or fourth-rate carpenter..better paid, estimating his pay by what it will buy of the necessaries of life.
1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond II. iii. 42 (heading) I take the Queen's Pay in Quin's Regiment.
1958 N. Levine Canada made Me x. 207 The conditions were good, but not the pay.
1997 A. Sivanandan When Memory Dies iii. xiv. 362 His vice-principal..docked his pay for being absent without leave.
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society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > soldier by type of service > [noun] > receiving pay
soldiera1300
feedmanc1460
pensioner1472
pay1523
pensionary1550
1523 T. Wolsey in State Papers Henry VIII (1849) VI. 189 That the lanceknygtes being not past with the Countie Felix 7000 pays, wer at Porte Sus la Sone.
c. Originally Military. pay and rations: the wages, provisions, and other supplies allotted to a soldier for military service. In extended use: (British) the remuneration package, consisting of money, bonuses, and other benefits, offered by an employer.
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1776 Jrnl. 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.
1841 Jrnl. Royal Geogr. Soc. 11 145 The Hamadán regiment was encamped here, and was loud in its complaints relative to pay and rations.
1939 Jrnl. 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.
1956 Times 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.
1999 C. 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.
2007 Mondaq Business Briefing (Nexis) 21 Aug. HR..was a dynamic function that could look after an organisation and deliver much more than pay and rations.
4. † b. The condition of being paid or receiving wages. in pay: in receipt of wages; (also in extended use) ready, on hand. out of pay: not in paid employment. Obsolete.
a. The action or fact of paying for something; the paying of wages; payment. As a count noun: a payment, spec. any of the regular payments of wages to an employee.
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society > trade and finance > payment > [noun]
waringc1315
yielding1340
payment1370
pay1440
pitchc1500
resolute1548
toss1630
payout1917
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > [noun] > of manual workers > (one of) periodic payments of
pay1440
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 377 Pay, or payment, solucio.
a1500 Seven Sages (Cambr.) (1933) 1447 (MED) That tyme came..But for the squyer came no paye.
?1553 J. Locke in Hakluyt's Voy. (1599) II. i. 108 They haue euery pay, which is 45 dayes, 15 Mozenigos, which is 15 shillings sterling.
1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge iv. v. sig. H4v At the fixed day of pay.
1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 215 Rather to score it up against the future, then require present pay.
1791 N.Y. Daily Gaz. 6 June (advt.) He delivers Likeness as large as the life... and if no likeness, no pay.
1847 J. H. Ingraham Free-trader xix. 74 I will take it; but I can't receive it as a pay for the shells!
1872 Daily 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.
1926 J. Devanny Butcher Shop vii. 67 The Arbitration Court fixes a uniform rate of pay for the whole country.
1986 E. Amadi Estrangement xxi. 225 Her parents would ask him to negotiate for marriage instead of a monthly pay.
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society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to conditions > [phrase] > in receipt of pay
in pay1567
in (also under) the pay of1838
society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > getting or making money > [noun] > earning money > condition of receiving pay
pay1567
1567 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure II. xxxii. f. 392 In this army, ouer and besides those that were in pay, many Barons and Gentlemen willingly went vpon their owne proper costes and charges.
1590 W. Segar Bk. Honor & Armes iv. iv. 58 An Artificer..(notwithstanding he bee also in Pay) may bee repulsed to fight with any priuate Soldier.
1595 W. Warner Menaecmi i. ii I am like a voluntary souldier, out of paie.
1601 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Trauellers Breuiat 104 Armed troupes which he keepeth in continuall pay and action.
1671 R. Montagu in Buccleuch MSS (Hist. MSS Comm.) (1899) I. 509 His provisions for sea were already made, his men raised and in pay.
1743 J. Bulkeley & J. Cummins Voy. to South-seas Pref. 13 When they were out of Pay, they look'd upon themselves as their own Masters.
1757 B. Franklin in London Chron. 20 Sept. In the Forts, 1100 Soldiers are maintained on the Frontiers in Pay, being armed and accoutred by the Province.
1832 E. Brydges Lake of Geneva vi. 186 Hireling scriblers Are kept in pay by grasping publishers, To recommend their goods by fulsome flatteries.
1884 E. A. Abbott Flatland i. iii The small body of their brethren whom the Chief Circle keeps in pay for emergencies.
c. in (also †under) the pay of: in the paid employment of; (figurative) under the control or sway of. Also in a person's pay.
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society > occupation and work > working > [phrase] > in the paid employment of
at or of (a person's) wage or wages?a1400
in (also under) the pay of1838
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to conditions > [phrase] > in receipt of pay
in pay1567
in (also under) the pay of1838
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. ii. 126 Like enough..To fight against me vnder Percies pay. View more context for this quotation
c1625 J. Smith Hist. Bermudaes (1882) 294 We haue nine fortes and two plattformes..but one only gunner in the Companyes pay to plie them all.
1757 B. Franklin in London Chron. 20 Sept. Troops in the Pay of the Province.
1798 T. Morton Secrets Worth Knowing iii. iii. 36 When I had given thee all, I sought my fortunes in a German regiment in the pay of England.
1838 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece (new ed.) IV. 197 Unless we should suppose that the murderers were in the pay of Sparta.
1886 Dict. National Biogr. VIII. 315/1 The queen regent proceeded to..garrison the city with Scotch soldiers in the pay of France.
1933 Mod. Psychologist Nov. 249/2 The rickshaw coolies, in the pay of the brothel keepers, will automatically trundle off in the direction of the brothels any drunken man or stranger.
2003 F. Shaw Sweetest Thing 343 Richards' man is keeping the secret for us. He's in our pay.
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society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > other mediums of exchange > [noun] > any article used as payment medium
pay1659
1659 J. Tinker Let. in Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. (1865) 4th Ser. VII. 233 There was only found 10 sheepe-wethers fitt to kill..[and] I sould [them] to the neighbors for other pay, excepting the skins & woole which ar kept.
1663 in A. Perry & C. S. Brigham Early Rec. Portsmouth (Rhode Island) (1901) 118 To sell the tounes cow..for wompom or other pay.
1681 in Town 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.
1704 S. Knight Jrnl. (1825) 42 Pay is Grain, Pork, Beef, &c. at the prices sett by the General Court that year.
1767 in Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. (1912) XLVIII. 75 And if you should purchase light pay, then proceed for Turks island.
6. colloquial. With modifying adjective, as good, bad, slow, etc.: the quality in a person of tending to be good (bad, slow, etc.) at paying debts; (as a count noun) a person who tends to be good (bad, slow, etc.) at paying debts.
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1727 J. Gay Fables I. x. 35 If you'd employ your pen, Against the senseless sons of men,..No man is better pay than I am.
1754 G. G. Beekman Let. 2 Apr. in Beekman Mercantile Papers (1956) I. 210 Sears is Gone to Halifax and may not be here this 12 months for the New England man are bad pay.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas I. iii. iii. 344 Great men are good pay in the long run: they often marry rich heiresses, and then old scores are wiped off.
1830 M. Edgeworth Let. 4 Nov. (1971) 427 We have experience of the Bonds being good pay and of one of the Johnstones being bad pay.
1873 Trans. Dept. Agric. State Illinois 1872 10 249 Many farmers were very slow pay.
1926 J. 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.
1985 E. Leonard Glitz xv. 131 Guy a slow pay, you put his hand on the grill?
7. Mining. A remunerative yield of metal, oil, or natural gas. Also: a bed of ore, etc., yielding this.
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the world > the earth > minerals > mineral sources > [noun] > profitable sources
pay streak1856
pay1857
pay rock1862
Comstock1866
pay chimney1868
pay vein1872
pay zone1873
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > mineral material > ore > [noun] > renumerative yield in bed of ore
pay1857
1857 J. D. Borthwick Three Years 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.
1868 J. R. Browne Rep. Mineral Resources States West of Rocky Mts. 101 in Rep. Mineral Resources U.S. (U.S. Dept. of Treasury) In 1866 they struck into pay and erected a 10-stamp mill, which is driven by a hurdy-gurdy wheel.
1877 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 91 It is in this stratum of 40 feet where the rich pay will be found.
1933 E. 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.
1989 R. Bass Oil Notes 9 Thousands of barrels of pay just a few hundred feet to the north of the discovery well.
8. Navy slang. = paymaster n. 1b. Frequently as a form of address.
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society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > paying (money) for labour or service > [noun] > paymaster or paymistress
paymaster1537
paymistress1583
pagador1591
pay1878
paybob1916
1878 F. O. 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!
1942 ‘Sea-Wrack’ Random Soundings 71 We were ‘Old Boffins’, the Pay. and I. He had been in the Bank of England for many years, and in the R.N.R. almost as long.
1952 J. V. Noel Naval Terms Dict. (1966) Pay, slang: disbursing or supply officer of a ship.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
a. Designating a person charged with the payment of wages to employees or personnel.
pay-clerk n.
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1771 in J. Phillips Hist. Inland Navig. (1792) 334 That..the pay-clerk..do attend on the canal..to receive the returns..of the number of labourers..and to pay them..the amount of their several returns.
1833 F. Marryat Peter Simple (new ed.) I. xi. 140 The dock-yard boats with all the pay clerks, and the cashier..came.
1987 B. West Railwaymen Wolverton 1831–1986 (BNC) 35 Four and a half thousand men are handed their wages by the pay-clerks in less than ten minutes.
pay-commander n.
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1837 B. D. Walsh tr. Aristophanes Acharnians ii. vi, in Comedies 58 Since it began, a pay-commander.
1904 N.E.D. at Pay- Pay-commander.
1944 Times 28 Jan. 1/1 Marriages... Eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Phillips, of Greenoch to Margaret Joan Duncan, daughter of Pay-Commander and Mrs. Cross of Datchet.
b. Designating a document or list containing details of wages paid or payable to an employee or group of employees.
pay list n.
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society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > account or statement of > [noun] > account book > other types of account book
journal1540
bankers' book1585
shop book?1594
waste-book1613
cash-book1622
counter-book1622
pay-book1622
copybook1660
audit-booka1680
bankbook1682
transfer-book1694
malt-book1710
pay list1757
petty cash book1827
passbook1833
stock book1835
guard book1839
tommy book1841
bought-book1849
in-clearing book1872
out-clearing book1882
out-book1884
trial-book1890
1757 Act 31 Geo. II c. 10 Abstract §3 Every inferior Officer or Seaman..shall be paid by Proper Pay Lists, all the Wages due to him.
1846 Southern & Western Lit. Messenger & Rev. May 294/2 Then limit the full pay list, or active list, to say 45 captains, 60 commanders, 250 lieutenants, and so with other commissioned officers.
2003 Daily Mail (Nexis) 3 July 16 Tony is now being pressed to remove the arrogant Mrs Hodge from his ministerial pay list.
pay-sheet n.
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1859 S. Smiles Life G. Stephenson xx. 246 If he returned home before mid-day, it would be to examine the pay-sheets in the different departments.
1981 Dict. National Biogr. 1961–70 1076/2 Wilde's last paysheet at the Ferndale no. 8 Pit..showed him earning the sum of £6. 7s. 9d. for a fortnight's pay.
pay-ticket n.
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1721 London Gaz. No. 5931/3 Several Blank Seamens Pay-Tickets.
1855 Lady Bentham in Jrnl. Soc. Arts 14 Sept. 699/2 The amount of wages was made out weekly, and the particulars of them written on a pay-ticket.
1964 Eng. Hist. Rev. 79 561 The conservatism of the navy commissioners regarding..the discounting of pay-tickets by their clerks.
c. Designating a place at or from which money (esp. in the form of wages) is handed out or collected in.† pay-place n. Obsolete
pay desk n.
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society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > paying (money) for labour or service > [noun] > table or desk where payment made
pay-table1677
pay desk1869
1869 W. C. Watson Mil. & Civil Hist. County of Essex, N.Y. 457 The merchant's clerk stood ledger in hand at the pay desk to claim and receive his account from the wages of labor.
1932 D. L. Sayers Have his Carcase xxx. 395 Bunter was four behind him in the queue at the pay-desk.
1991 J. Tanner Folly's Child (BNC) 109 She took her tray to the pay desk, opened her bag and felt for her purse.
pay office n.
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1704 Duke of Marlborough Let. in H. L. Snyder Marlborough–Godolophin Corr. (1975) I. 285 I have derected Mr. Sweet to writt to Mr. Lown[de]s as well as to the pay office, and to give an exact account of the monys that is sent.
1856 E. B. Kelly Autobiogr. ix. 71 He sent me to the pay office to Mr. De Forest, the agent, from whom I received the first payment of five shares, equal to $7,000.
2003 Chattanooga (Tennessee) Times Free Press (Nexis) 5 Oct. a1 A similar riot occurred Saturday in a pay office in the southern city of Basra.
ΚΠ
1816 Sporting Mag. 48 173 The plaintiff expected..to receive his money..at the usual pay-place.
1875 Jrnl. Statist. Soc. 38 276 All the withdrawn notes of the bank must be consigned to a pay-place appointed at the place where the bank has its seat.
pay-room n.
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1831 Lincoln Herald 23 Sept. 4/4 An attempt was made to break into the pay-room of the workhouse.
1979 Compar. Stud. Society & Hist. 21 208 Sample skeins of thread, and scales for weighing those skeins were simply moved from market stalls in the old Halles to pay-rooms in the new workshops for hand-operated jennies.
pay shed n.
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1889 Macmillan's Mag. Dec. 151/1 What befell at that interview in the lonely pay-shed by the side of the half-built embankment, only a few hundred coolies know.
1967 Times 15 June 16/6 In industry men ‘subbed’ their pay repeatedly with the result that when some of them came to the pay shed on pay day they would draw only a pound or two.
pay-table n.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > paying (money) for labour or service > [noun] > table or desk where payment made
pay-table1677
pay desk1869
1677 W. Wycherley Plain-dealer i. 4 He look'd like one of us, coming from the Pay-table, with a new Lining to our Hats under our Arms.
1850 T. McCrie Mem. Sir A. Agnew (1852) vi. 134 Saturday-night pay-tables established in public-houses to tempt the tradesman.
1977 Times Lit. Suppl. 25 Mar. 334/5 His now receptive mind drifts back into the past where he is, once again, leader and paymaster... The ghosts of the men again come forward to the paytable.
pay window n.
ΚΠ
1882 Harper's Mag. Feb. 405/1 Their money is jingled expeditiously out into the shabby straw sombreros they deferentially hold in waiting, through a pay window.
1993 Guardian 24 July 23/4 The solicitous voice that rattled from the kerbside intercom was revealed at the pay window as belonging to a smiling girl teenager.
d. Designating an arrangement, agreement, or negotiation concerning rates of pay.
pay agreement n.
ΚΠ
1866 Times 30 Jan. 11/2 The agreement was what is called a P.P., or play and pay agreement.]
1948 Rep. U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit (Lexis) 27 Dec. It is noteworthy that the statute does not distinguish between lump sum and periodic pay agreements.
1994 T. Byrne Local Govt. in Brit. (ed. 6) xi. 297 Local authorities are committed to certain expenditure under national pay agreements.
pay award n.
ΚΠ
1927 Times 12 Aug. 10/5 (headline) Post office pay award.
1993 Times Educ. Suppl. 5 Mar. 8/3 The teachers' pay award and inflation mean that in real terms a standstill budget equals a reduction.
pay bargaining n.
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1962 Times 24 Mar. 5/5 (headline) Reality knocked out of pay bargaining.
1992 Economist 7 Mar. 66/2 In the round of pay bargaining now starting, bosses are talking of rises of no more than 2%.
pay claim n.
ΚΠ
1936 Times 18 Sept. 14/1 (headline) Civil service pay claim.
2003 Morning Star (Nexis) 15 Oct. 4 The union's agriculture committee will soon be drawing up detailed plans for this year's pay claim.
pay code n.
ΚΠ
1947 Economica 14 269 Thus from Cmd. 6750 of 1946 on the Post-War Pay Code for Officers, and Cmd. 6715 or 1945 on the Post-War Pay Code for Other Ranks, it is possible to calculate that, pre-war, officers comprised about 1 in 18 of total strength.
2003 Daily Mail (Nexis) 8 May It no longer makes sense for any company to flout the pay codes, however competitive the markets in which they operate.
pay deal n.
ΚΠ
1964 Times 8 July 8/7 Cambrian Airways..said that under a new pay deal their Viscount pilots will receive more favourable salaries by June.
2002 Together (T. & G.) Summer 3/2 The pay deal also establishes a Local Government Pay Commission that will review pay levels for the lowest earners.
pay increase n.
ΚΠ
1919 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 34 92 Though later reports pointed to some improvement and some pay increases, discontent was slow to subside.
1996 Mother Jones Feb. 88/2 When employees aren't doing their jobs well, a pay increase will not guilt-trip them into improvements.
pay negotiation n.
ΚΠ
1937 Times 31 Mar. 7/3 (headline) Schoolmasters and pay negotiations.
1991 N. Fowler Ministers Decide (BNC) 177 The Whitley Councils are the means whereby pay negotiations take place in the health service.
pay policy n.
ΚΠ
1949 W. E. Binkley & M. C. Moos Gram. Amer. Politics xix. 384 The classification of positions is very important in laying a foundation for a more or less rational pay policy.
1995 Guardian 6 Jan. i. 22/7 No Labour politician is to blame for the snouts-in-the-trough pay policy of British Gas.
pay settlement n.
ΚΠ
1945 Social Forces 23 457/2 The other third of the tenant's income is spent for clothing soon after the fall ‘pay settlement’.
1992 Economist 11 Apr. 44/1 Under pattern bargaining, a union makes a pay settlement with one company in an industry. This then becomes the pattern for the next company's settlement, and so on.
C2. Mining. Containing metal, etc., in sufficient quantity to be profitably extracted. See also pay dirt n.† pay chimney n. Obsolete
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > mineral sources > [noun] > profitable sources
pay streak1856
pay1857
pay rock1862
Comstock1866
pay chimney1868
pay vein1872
pay zone1873
1868 J. R. Browne Rep. Mineral Resources States West of Rocky Mts. 12 in Rep. Mineral Resources U.S. (U.S. Dept. of Treasury) The next error was that nothing was known of pay chimneys, and if good quartz was found in one place, it was presumed that the whole mine was of the same quality.
1877 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 107 The gold is..evenly distributed through the pay chimneys.
pay ground n.
ΚΠ
1868 Rep. Mineral Res. West of Rocky Mountains 57 The total production has been about $60,000, and there is pay ground enough to last for 5 or 10 years more.
1991 Mining Ann. Rev. (Nexis) June 132 Alluvial diamond prospecting continued in Tongo Lease, to find pay grounds as additional source for plant feed.
pay ore n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > ore > [noun] > profitable
pay ore1865
1865 S. Bowles Across the Continent xv. 147 One company has spent over a million dollars in the vain pursuit of ‘pay ore;’.
1997 Roanoke Times & World News (Roanoke, Va.) (Nexis) 20 July 1 Cripple Creek is a placer..mine—a huge open pit where workers strip away topsoil and dig up dirt and gravel, called pay ore.
pay rock n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > mineral sources > [noun] > profitable sources
pay streak1856
pay1857
pay rock1862
Comstock1866
pay chimney1868
pay vein1872
pay zone1873
1862 ‘M. Twain’ Let. 8 Feb. (1920) 51 We'll have a mill-site, water power, and pay-rock, all handy.
2000 M. Wright What They didn't teach You about Wild West ii. 63 You had little chance of striking..‘pay rock,’ ‘pay shoot,’ ‘pay streak,’ or ‘pay vein’—dirt, earth, or gravel bearing heavy quantities of minerals, especially gold.
pay shoot n.
ΚΠ
1869 Paris Universal Exposition, 1967: Rep. on Precious Metals i. 8 The average thickness of vein may be considered as about 16 feet, and the length, horizontally, of the pay shoot is not over 450 or 500 feet.
1998 Finance Week (Nexis) 18 Sept. 86 The prospect of following ‘pay shoots’ into the depths was always enticing and Rand Mines was already assessing data from its deep-level mines in the Fifties.
pay streak n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > mineral sources > [noun] > profitable sources
pay streak1856
pay1857
pay rock1862
Comstock1866
pay chimney1868
pay vein1872
pay zone1873
1856 Daily Evening Bull. (San Francisco) 11 Oct. 1/1 These lucky miners worked one, two, and even three years, to reach the pay streak.
2003 Reno (Nevada) Gaz.-Jrnl. (Nexis) 20 June 1 h Working with his two sons, Wedekind followed rich pay streaks to mine gold, silver and zinc.
pay vein n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > mineral sources > [noun] > profitable sources
pay streak1856
pay1857
pay rock1862
Comstock1866
pay chimney1868
pay vein1872
pay zone1873
1872 Rep. on Sutro Tunnel 47 The width of our pay-vein was, at 100 feet in depth, 90 feet.
2000 M. Wright What they didn't teach you about Wild West ii. 63 You had little chance of striking..‘pay rock,’ ‘pay shoot,’ ‘pay streak,’ or ‘pay vein’—dirt, earth, or gravel bearing heavy quantities of minerals, especially gold.
pay zone n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > mineral sources > [noun] > profitable sources
pay streak1856
pay1857
pay rock1862
Comstock1866
pay chimney1868
pay vein1872
pay zone1873
society > occupation and work > workplace > places where raw materials are extracted > mine > [noun] > zone containing profitable metals or minerals
pay zone1873
1873 R. W. Rossiter Silver & Gold i. i. 78 These veins are generally narrow, and the pay zones or chimneys of very limited extent in the majority of claims.
1991 Offshore Engineer Sept. 31 You're up against deeper pay zones and crowded, multi-well drilling programs.
C3.
pay agent n. an official who pays wages; (now chiefly U.S., more fully the President's pay agent) a panel responsible for advising the U.S. president on rates of pay for government employees.
ΚΠ
1847 Times 18 June 7/4 Six men, with their faces blackened, attempted to rob and murder Mr. W. Weyland, a Government pay agent.
1876 Biogr. Encycl. Ohio 412/2 On his return to Ohio he was appointed by Governor Brough, in February, 1864, Pay Agent, and served in that capacity until the close of the war.
2003 Washington Post (Nexis) 8 Oct. b2 The proposal would have to clear a higher-level review board, called the President's Pay Agent.
pay bill n. (a) a document containing details of wages paid or payable to an employee or group of employees; (b) the total amount of money paid in wages to a group of employees.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > expenditure > [noun] > expenses > for labour or wages
labourage1715
labour cost1821
pay bill1828
wage bill1919
wage-price1946
wage cost1958
society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > account or statement of > [noun] > other types of statement
stewart-compt1580
book account1649
account stateda1683
ledger-account1738
bank statement1824
pay bill1828
cost sheet1840
average-statement1865
reconciliation statement1866
swindle sheet1906
exposure draft1971
1828 N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Pay-bill, a bill of money to be paid to the soldiers of a company.
1886 J. Barrowman Gloss. Sc. Mining Terms 49 Pay-bill, or pay-sheet, a statement shewing details of workmen's wages for a stated period, usually a fortnight.
1928 C. Coolidge in R. H. Ferrell & H. H. Quint Talkative President (1964) vi. 112 There is the Post Office pay bill of I think $20,000,000.
2003 Sunday Tribune (Dublin) (Nexis) 18 May 17 Longerterm problems facing the government with regard to..the spiralling public-sector pay bill and the growing level of uncompetitiveness in the economy.
pay-book n. an account book.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > account or statement of > [noun] > account book > other types of account book
journal1540
bankers' book1585
shop book?1594
waste-book1613
cash-book1622
counter-book1622
pay-book1622
copybook1660
audit-booka1680
bankbook1682
transfer-book1694
malt-book1710
pay list1757
petty cash book1827
passbook1833
stock book1835
guard book1839
tommy book1841
bought-book1849
in-clearing book1872
out-clearing book1882
out-book1884
trial-book1890
1622 R. Hawkins Observ. Voiage South Sea iv. 10 Aboue two hundreth and sixtie men, as by the Pay-booke appeareth.
1755 Abstr. Act in M.P.'s Let. on R.N. 14 Five..Pay-books shall be..made out.., and a Slop-book.
1984 A. MacLean San Andreas xi. 243 Let me see your pay-book... Very new and very clean.
pay car n. North American a railway wagon in which wages are delivered.
ΚΠ
1866 Railroad Property 445/1 (table) Pay car.
1976 J. Lukasiewicz Railway Game iv. 25 CPR's situation was summed up by Van Horne in a wire which reached Stephen the next day: ‘Have no means paying wages, pay car can't be sent out, and unless we get immediate relief we must stop.’
pay corps n. a corps of any of the armed services (esp. the U.S. Navy) which administers pay, provides funds for supplies, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > branch of army > [noun] > administration and supply branches
baggage1603
field train1692
Corps of Wagoners1802
wagon-corps1810
subsistence department1820
baggage-train1841
rear echelon1852
Control Department1867
Army Service Corps1869
A.S.C.1871
pay corps1876
Q1916
echelon1922
1876 J. R. Soley Hist. Sketch of U.S. Naval Acad. ii. i. 140 Outside of the academic staff, there are attached to the Academy a chaplain, a number of officers of the Medical and Pay Corps of the Navy, [etc.].
1884 Naval Encycl. 638/1 The pay corps of the navy is the outgrowth of the old system of ‘pursers’.
2003 Washington Post (Nexis) 31 Aug. b6 Colin chose the Royal Army Pay Corps, because, he said, it paid a few shillings more than other branches.
pay cut n. a reduction in wages or salary.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > [noun] > deduction from pay
stoppage1465
pay cut1931
1931 Daily Worker 16 Sept. 1/5 (heading) Navy unrest over pay cuts.
1996 Entertainment Weekly 12 Apr. 28/2 Other stars, including Willis, Travolta, and Cage, have taken steep pay cuts to work on low-budget, high-status flicks.
pay differential n. a difference in the salaries awarded to a group of employees, calculated according to differences in grade, skills, performance, etc.
ΚΠ
1924 Night Work in Postal Service (Hearings before U.S. Senate Committee on Post Offices, 67th Congress, 2nd Session) 26 South Bend, Ind., favors time allowance..to prohibit expense being greater than it would be if a pay differential were adopted.
1996 W. Hutton State we're In (rev. ed.) x. 273 The compression of pay differentials would seem to offer little in the way of ‘incentives’ to Japanese workers.
pay director n. U.S. Navy an officer of the pay corps, of equivalent rank to a captain.
ΚΠ
1871 J. C. Elredge Let. 14 Oct. in Rep. Chicago Relief & Aid Soc. (1874) 63 Very respectfully, your obedient servant, J. C. Elredge, Pay Director U.S. Navy.
1914 William & Mary Coll. Q. Hist. Mag. 22 300 J. S. Carpenter, Pay Director, U.S.N., Boston, Mass.
1997 S. R. Fischer Rongorongo xii. 86 In 1902 he was appointed Pay Director and, ten months later, in January 1903, he retired from the US Navy.
pay envelope n. an envelope in which weekly or monthly wages are delivered to an employee; (now also) an envelope containing an employee's weekly or monthly payslip.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > paying (money) for labour or service > [noun] > pay-envelope
pay envelope1889
pay packet1927
wage packet1951
1889 New Englander (New Haven, Connecticut) May 320 He..denounces political mottoes on ‘pay envelopes’ to employés [etc.].
1911 E. Ferber Dawn O'Hara iv. 46 My bank account has always been an all too small pay envelope at the end of each week.
2000 Teaching Tolerance Fall 54/1 Women stormed off the job when they found a shortage in their pay envelopes.
pay freeze n. a period during which no wage or salary increases may occur (within a company, profession, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > wage structures and scales > [noun] > wage policy > no increase > period of
pay freeze1950
pay pause1961
1950 Times 25 June 4/4 Drivers..shouted that they had waited long enough, that there was no longer a pay freeze, and that it was time they had some more money.
1996 W. Hutton State we're In (rev. ed.) iv. 101 Professor Truman Bewlay conducted 183 interviews..to see why firms were not implementing more pay freezes and wage cuts.
pay gravel n. gravel containing enough gold to yield a profit.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > mineral sources > [noun] > auriferous gravel
alluvial1818
placer1829
gravel1849
washing-stuff1853
pay gravel1857
wash-gravel1860
wash-dirt1862
1857 W. P. Blake in R. S. Williamson Rep. Explor. & Routes Calif. (U.S. War Dept.: Rep. Explor. Route to Pacific V.) ii. 272 Auriferous gravel, (‘pay gravel’).
1991 Washington Post 21 July a27/4 Coles reckons one yard of pay gravel will yield an average of about $10 worth of gold.
pay hike n. a (substantial) increase in wages (see hike n. 2).
ΚΠ
1916 Topeka (Kansas) Daily Capital 30 July 14/2 (headline) Cops will not get pay hike until next year.
1949 Polit. Reorientation Japan vi. 239 Following a union pay-hike demand a number of union members occupied the Aikodo Company's plant in September 1947.
1996 Independent 12 Sept. ii. 4/3 Ann was offered a huge pay hike along with a promotion.
2006 R. Luecke & B. J. Hall Performance Managem. ii. 21 Extrinsic rewards are external, tangible forms of recognition such as pay hikes, promotions, bonuses, and sales prizes.
pay-inspector n. U.S. Navy an officer of the pay corps, of equivalent rank to a commander.
ΚΠ
1876 J. R. Hussey Cent. of Independence 510/1 (table) Medical and Pay Inspectors, and Chief Engineers.
1903 Times 8 July 10/2 From the Chicago.—Lieutenant-Commander Hodges, Lieutenant-Commander Griffin, Medical Inspector Derr, Pay-Inspector Cowie.
payline n. †(a) a statement advising an employee of wages due (obsolete); (b) a regression line representing mean salaries used in determining a pay structure, or in comparing different pay scales; (c) a limit to the amount of funding (esp. research funding) to be awarded by a particular body at a certain time.
ΚΠ
1887 Times 7 Mar. 3/4 The points he refers to are..weekly pays, pay-lines, and a careful arrangement of deductions for sharpening picks, &c.
1892 Labour Comm. Gloss. Pay-lines,..tickets..issued a day before pay day to each workman stating the particulars of his pay, thus allowing him time to make any complaints as to amounts, etc., before being paid.
1962 E. B. Staats in Reform in Statutory Pay Provisions (U. S. Congr.: Senate Comm. Post Office & Civil Service) 8 A few of the rates reported here are..screened out of use in developing the Federal compatibility pay line.
1973 Science 12 Jan. 158/3 Each institute decides at what level to draw its payline.
1999 J. J. Illes Strategic Grant-seeker i. 9 Sponsor paylines may be set a priori, as in the case when a sponsor funds only, for example, ten proposals in any cycle regardless of cost or number of proposals received.
2003 Contemp. Econ. Policy (Nexis) July 318 Raising the female payline to the male payline.
pay night n. a night when wages are paid; the evening of a day on which wages are paid.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > paying (money) for labour or service > [noun] > time of payment
payday1529
pay night1792
1792 T. Holcroft Anna St. Ives VII. cxx. 77 As it is pay night, the hungry scoundrel must not be disappointed.
1820 C. Mathews Let. 25 July in A. Mathews Mem. C. Mathews (1839) III. vii. 148 The common outcry was against Saturday for a second performance, as it is pay-night, and the worst night in the week.
2003 Toronto Star (Nexis) 12 July h3 In Bognor Regis..life is a weary round of serving drinks, getting drunk, smoking the odd joint and passing out cold on pay night.
pay packet n. a packet or envelope in which weekly or monthly wages are delivered to an employee; (now also in extended use) an employee's (net) wages.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > paying (money) for labour or service > [noun] > pay-envelope
pay envelope1889
pay packet1927
wage packet1951
1927 Times 31 May 17/6 The trade unions befog the issue to an unnecessary extent by discussing so-called ‘rates’ instead of actual pay packet remuneration.
1941 ‘N. Blake’ Case of Abominable Snowman ix. 101 A stoppage of work and less money in the pay-packet on Fridays.
1995 Independent 11 Oct. 3/1 Yesterday's strikes look like a routine conflict over the pay packets of state employees.
pay pause n. = pay freeze n.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > wage structures and scales > [noun] > wage policy > no increase > period of
pay freeze1950
pay pause1961
1961 Times 2 Aug. 8/1 (headline) Grossly unfair pay pause say civil servants.
1977 Evening Post (Nottingham) 27 Jan. 5/1 When the pay pause was relaxed for doctors earning over £8,000, it was decided not to pay the increment for another year.
1990 D. Kavanagh Thatcherism & Brit. Politics (ed. 2) ii. 48 Incomes policies as an answer to wage-induced inflation arrived on the agenda in 1961 with Selwyn Lloyd's ‘pay pause’.
pay raise n. chiefly North American = pay rise n.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > wage structures and scales > [noun] > wage rise
rise1836
raise1898
pay rise1936
pay raise1938
bump1949
1938 J. A. Farley Behind Ballots i. 13 On one occasion, several other boys and myself banded together and struck for a flat wage of one dollar a day... I can't be certain whether we were really interested in getting the eightcent pay raise or in getting a vacation.
1958 ‘J. Castle’ & A. Hailey Flight into Danger i. 17 It might be a good idea to use the whole thing as a lever for a pay raise.
1996 Daily Yomiuri (Tokyo) 29 Apr. 8/1 He granted across-the-board pay raises.
pay restraint n. a policy of discouraging or limiting increases in pay; a period during which such a policy is enforced.
ΚΠ
1956 Times 4 June 7/3 (headline) Pay restraint plea.
2003 Evening Chron. (Newcastle) (Nexis) 14 Aug. 23 We are calling for pay restraint across the civil service to ensure that funding intended for better public services is not dissipated into civil service pay increases.
pay rise n. an increase in wages or salary.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > wage structures and scales > [noun] > wage rise
rise1836
raise1898
pay rise1936
pay raise1938
bump1949
1936 J. Steinbeck In Dubious Battle iii. 26 Hell, we don't want only temporary pay-rises.
1978 Whitaker's Almanack 567 Government..powers exercised through the Price Commission to take sanctions against employers granting pay rises.
2002 Daily Tel. 7 Mar. 15/4 Workers are being given elaborate new job titles instead of pay rises.
pay scale n. a graded scale of salaries paid in a particular company, profession, etc.
ΚΠ
1882 N. Amer. Rev. Aug. 139 The spirit pervading the pay-scale of the officerhood of the American army is that he who selects it as his profession shall have an adequate income on which to live, no matter what his rank.
1949 Dict. National Biogr. 1931–40 486/1 In September 1918, when the inadequacy of the current pay scales for officers and men became an urgent matter, Jerram was appointed president of a committee thereon.
1994 T. Byrne Local Govt. in Brit. (ed. 6) x. 254 A number of councils..are breaking away from national agreements to develop their own local pay scales.
pay sergeant n. a sergeant responsible for the funds and supplies of a regiment.
ΚΠ
1760 Cautions & Advices to Officers of Army 37 A Pay-Serjeant can sufficiently inform you of the team you may thus assist.
1830 W. Scott Lett. Demonol. & Witchcraft x. 365 Jarvis Matcham was pay-sergeant in a regiment.
1991 W. Fox Willoughby's Phoney War (BNC) 115 The Pay Sergeant had thrust a Railway Warrant into his hand and told him where the baggage had been dumped.
payslip n. a printed slip given to an employee as a record of wages or salary paid (usually including details of deductions, bonuses, etc.).
ΚΠ
1909 Times 13 Feb. 17/5 Mr. Breach mentioned that..there are no bills of fare, and no pay-slips.
1964 T. W. McRae Impact Computers on Accounting i. 17 The output printer is directly hooked up to the computer store so that each payslip is printed immediately after it is calculated.
1985 Fiscal Stud. Aug. 7 Smith receives a pay-slip, which tells him his income and the tax and National Insurance contributions deducted from it.
pay spine n. a linear pay scale operated in some large bodies such as the Civil Service, in which each graded job corresponds notionally to a particular ‘spine point’ on the scale, but allowing flexibility for local and specific conditions.
ΚΠ
1980 Times 15 Jan. 17/9 The Post Office is going through a massive exercise..aimed at introducing a new ‘pay spine’ in which all grades will be integrated.
2000 Church Times 24 Mar. 4/2 The new offer would give chaplains on the national pay spine a starting salary of £15,287 a year.
pay structure n. the pay scale of a company, profession, etc., whereby the salary of each employee may be determined by grade, length of employment, performance, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > wage structures and scales > [noun]
pay structure1935
1935 L. D. White et al. Civil Service Abroad ii. 17 Continuous efforts on the part of the professional officers to secure simplification of classes and pay structure have failed.
1947 Jrnl. Negro Educ. 16 326/2 A bill before the Congress provides for a revised pay structure which would compensate teachers who hold masters' degrees.
1991 Times Educ. Suppl. 18 Jan. 15/5 What is the position of protected posts after the introduction of the new pay structure this month?
pay week n. a week during which wages are paid.
ΚΠ
1766 W. Gordon Gen. Counting-house 364 The acceptation of bills..in the second or third pay-week.
1849 Morning Chron. 24 Dec. 5/3 We generally manage to have some ale on Saturday nights, particularly on pay-weeks.
2003 Post-Courier (Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea) (Nexis) 29 July 1 Vagi Mata said his officers followed the usual arrangements they did every pay week.
pay wicket n. (a) = pay-gate n. at pay v.1 Compounds 1c (now rare); (b) Canadian a booth, etc., at which money (esp. that won from gambling) is paid out; chiefly figurative, often with reference to the payment of salaries.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > duty on goods > imposition or collecting of duties on goods > [noun] > toll-barrier
bar1540
turnpike1678
sidebar1760
toll-gate1773
barrier1804
toll-bar1813
pike1820
octroi1861
pay wicket1895
péage1973
1895 Westm. Gaz. 11 June 5/1 The manager..was at the pay-wicket.
1951 Life's Picture Hist. Western Man iv. 109 (caption) The happiest day of the week was payday at the Arsenal, the Venetian navy yard... The pay wicket is at left.
1988 Toronto Star (Nexis) 9 Apr. f5 The man at the casino's pay wicket handed over the cash without batting an eye.
2000 St. John's (Newfoundland) Telegram (Nexis) 11 May 27 At the pay wicket, he was seventh with a $7-million US salary.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
payv.1
/peɪ/, U.S. /peɪ/ 1.
a. transitive. To appease, pacify; to satisfy, content, gratify; to be acceptable to. Obsolete.See also apay v. 1. For use of past participle in ill paid, well paid, etc., see paid adj. 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > quality of being pleasant or pleasurable > please or give pleasure to [verb (transitive)]
i-quemec893
ywortheOE
queemeOE
likeOE
likeOE
paya1200
gamec1225
lustc1230
apaya1250
savoura1300
feastc1300
comfort1303
glew1303
pleasec1350
ticklec1386
feedc1400
agreea1413
agreec1425
emplessc1450
gree1468
applease1470
complaire1477
enjoy1485
warm1526
to claw the ears1549
content1552
pleasure1556
oblect?1567
relish1567
gratify1569
sweeta1575
promerit1582
tinkle1582
tastea1586
aggrate1590
gratulatea1592
greeta1592
grace1595
arride1600
complease1604
honey1604
agrade1611
oblectate1611
oblige1652
placentiate1694
flatter1695
to shine up to1882
fancy-
the mind > emotion > pleasure > contentment or satisfaction > be content or satisfied with [verb (transitive)] > content or satisfy
paya1200
apaya1250
pleasec1350
assythc1375
savourc1390
filsen?a1425
satisfy?a1425
sufficec1430
satify1434
applease1470
content1477
assethe1481
appetite1509
syth1513
satisfice?1531
gratify1569
gree1570
explenish1573
promerit1582
accommodate1624
placentiate1694
a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 179 (MED) Giet ne wile þe louerd ben paid mid his rihcte mol.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 237 Þus ich sochte delit. hu ich mest Machte paien mi lustes brune.
c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) 5255 Þis ihorde þe kaiser, and him paide swiþe wel.
c1300 St. Thomas Apostle (Laud) 85 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 379 (MED) To paiȝen him he gan singue.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 65 (MED) Cheaste..payþ moche þe dyeule and naȝt ne payþ god.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) 1379 (MED) How payez yow þis play?
a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Lansd.) (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Washington) (1965) 8882 (MED) She may neither goo ne sitte But þere þat the paieþ itte.
1496 (c1410) Dives & Pauper (de Worde) vii. iv. 280/2 Poore folke be not payed with suffycyent lyuynge but couete more than theym nedeth.
b. intransitive. To be satisfactory or pleasing to (also till) a person. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > quality of being pleasant or pleasurable > be pleasant or enjoyable [verb (intransitive)]
likeeOE
pleasea1393
savoura1400
payc1400
savourc1440
relish1594
smile1594
c1400 Comm. on Canticles (Bodl. 288) in T. Arnold Sel. Eng. Wks. J. Wyclif (1871) 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.
a1425 (c1340) R. Rolle Comm. on Canticles (Laud) in Psalter (1884) 524 (MED) That gost now ioyes in god, the whilk is verely kyndild with the fyre of the holy gost, til [v.r. to] the whilke..no passand thing payes [v.r. paieþ].
c1450 tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Lyfe Manhode (Cambr.) (1869) 144 (MED) Thei ouhte haue ynowh to doone to paye ayen to the king.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1897–1973) 210 (MED) My profer may both pleas and pay to all the lordys.
II. Senses involving financial transfer, and related uses.† 9. transitive. To compensate or make up for; = to pay off at Phrasal verbs. Obsolete. rare.† 11. transitive. to pay out of commission: to decommission (a ship) through the paying off of the crew (see to pay off at Phrasal verbs). Also intransitive. Obsolete.
2. transitive. To give, transfer, or hand over (money, or its equivalent) in return for goods or services, or in discharge of an obligation; to deliver (a sum or amount owed).Also with the recipient as second object, or in indirect passive.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > pay money or things [verb (transitive)]
yieldc893
pay?c1225
spendc1450
make1473
redd1491
to pay in1623
betall1630
to pay away1731
fund1843
spring1851
society > morality > duty or obligation > recognition of duty > discharge (an obligation) [verb (transitive)]
pay?c1225
ministera1382
acquitc1460
discharge1542
assoil1596
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 215 Hire wurð þet he paiȝede [c1230 Corpus paide; a1250 Titus peaiede] for hire.
c1300 St. Thomas Becket (Laud) 388 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 117 (MED) He let þoruȝ þe contreies an-quere hov muche ech Man scholde paiȝe.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 10244 (MED) Sixe & sixti þousend marc hii paiden him atten ende.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xiii. 381 He profred to paye a peny or tweyne More þan it was worth.
c1430 N. Love Mirror Blessed Life (Brasenose e.9) (1908) 62 Whan Joseph had paied that money for hym.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Matt. xviii. f. xxvj Have pacience with me, and I wyll paye the all.
1595 H. Chettle Piers Plainnes Prentiship sig. D3 He paid not a penie interest more than was allowable.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) iv. vii. 19 He that made vs pay one and twenty Fifteenes, and one shilling to the pound, the last Subsidie. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Pollexfen Disc. Trade & Coyn 12 He will pay but Sixteen Shillings of the Pound.
1722 D. Defoe Moll Flanders 73 Those that wanted Money to pay Half a Crown in the Pound to their Creditors..would yet find Money for a Supper, if they lik'd the Woman.
1798 M. Wollstonecraft Maria i. vi. 162 She..promised to pay two shillings a week till all was cleared.
1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe III. iii. 81 I will see that he pays thee the money in good silver.
1870 O. Logan Before Footlights 292 How do you manage to pay $60 for your new but ugly little Empire bonnet?
1949 C. P. Snow Time of Hope i. iv. 38 He was paying eight shillings in the pound.
1990 OnSat 9 Dec. 105/1 HDO was fined $5000 and paid $75,000 each to two children's homes as part of the penalty.
3.
a. transitive. To give to (a person, organization, etc.) money that is due for goods received, a service done, a debt or obligation incurred, etc.; to remunerate.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > pay money or things [verb (transitive)] > pay (a person)
payc1275
answera1387
defraya1586
imburse1721
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > paying (money) for labour or service > pay (a person) for labour or service [verb (transitive)]
payc1275
shipec1275
soldc1386
wage1393
feea1529
remunerate1542
satisfy1565
gratify1590
c1275 Kentish Serm. in J. Hall Select. Early Middle Eng. (1920) I. 220 (MED) Se sergant..paide þo werkmen and yaf euerich ane peny.
c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. iv. 61 Him for his handidandi Rediliche he payede.
c1395 G. Chaucer Friar's Tale 1613 ‘Pay me,’ quod he, ‘or..I wol bere awey thy newe panne For dette which thow owest me.’
c1450 (a1425) Metrical Paraphr. Old Test. (Selden) 12210 (MED) Wend home vnto þi howse agayn, sell oyle and pay euer ylk man.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 127 The marchand salbe payit of his hors.
1533 J. Gau tr. C. Pedersen Richt Vay 16 Thay that denisz thair dettis and wil noth pay thair crediturs.
1583 P. Stubbes Anat. Abuses (new ed.) i. sig. Kivv That thei would paie hym, or els thei would guage their neckes.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) i. ii. 56 Sixe pence that I had..To pay the Sadler for my Mistris crupper. View more context for this quotation
1633 P. Massinger New Way to pay Old Debts iv. ii. sig. I4 I will pay you in priuate.
1710 J. Swift Let. 23 Dec. (1768) IV. 149 Tell me how accounts stand between us, that you may be paid.
1780 R. B. Sheridan School for Scandal iv. i. 46 Paying them [sc. tradesmen] would only be encouraging them.
1814 M. Edgeworth Patronage I. iii. 66 He had been..paid by the job.
1885 W. D. Howells Rise Silas Lapham xxvi. 477 She plunged out of the carriage so hastily..that she did not think of paying the driver.
1948 Welsh Rev. 7 27 Stewart, previously so punctilious in the matter of their weekly wage, now forgot to pay them.
2002 New Republic 6 May 58/1 So what if, technically, he's the handyman and she pays him to hang around?
b. transitive. colloquial. not if you paid me and variants: under no circumstances; not at all, not for anything.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > refusal > [phrase]
not if I can help it1682
I'll be far (enough) if1752
I'll be shot (occasionally shortened to shot!) if1761
to have none of it1849
not if you paid me1853
not likely1878
that's your problem1951
1853 Harper's Mag. Mar. 542/2 I could not lift my hand against a woman, if you paid me for it.
1896 R. Kipling Seven Seas 153 He couldn't lie if you paid him, and he'd starve before he stole!
1910 E. M. Forster Howards End xxiv. 201 I couldn't live near her if you paid me.
1996 R. Mistry Fine Balance (1997) vi. 280 I wouldn't see such rubbish if you paid me.
4. transitive. To give money or goods in discharge of (a debt, tax, wage, ransom, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > pay money or things [verb (transitive)] > pay (a claim, dues, or charge)
doOE
bearOE
payc1300
content1433
answer1471
recontenta1525
sustain1530
even1619
settle1688
foot1819
c1300 St. Dominic (Laud) 242 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 285 (MED) He scholde him paye is huyre..he nolde him serui so for nouȝt.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) xvii. 23 Ȝoure maister payeth nat tribute?
?c1430 (?1383) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 293 Ȝif a trewe man teche þis pore man to paie his dettis.
1448 M. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 223 He hath payd hys feys.
1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) (1859) iv. xiii. 63 It passeth his power to payen his raunson.
a1500 ( Poems from Pilgrimage of Soul (Egerton) in F. J. Furnivall Wks. T. Hoccleve: Regement Princes (1897) p. xlvi (MED) The raunsom fully schal be paid ffor man, þat loken is in helle herne.
1522 J. Skelton Why come ye nat to Courte 250 Theyr wages were nat payde.
1611 Bible (King James) Ezra iv. 13 Then will they not pay tolle, tribute, and custome. View more context for this quotation
1675 R. Vaughan Disc. Coin & Coinage xiii. 142 The abundance likewise of Money doth enable Tenants the better to pay their Rents.
1707 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. 23 Aug. To pay his small debts.
1748 T. Smollett Roderick Random I. xxxv. 231 I have,..paid scot and lot, and the king's taxes.
1872 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch II. xxxviii. 296 It is not martyrdom to pay bills that one has run into one's self.
1883 J. A. Froude Short Stud. IV. ii. ii. 180 The prices which we paid for everything were preposterous.
1959 G. L. Harding Antiq. Jordan vi. 123 When they were defeated he had to pay tribute to the Romans.
1987 W. Raeper George MacDonald xiii. 133 Mr Powell had paid the last quarter's rent.
5.
a. intransitive. To give money or its equivalent in return for goods, services, etc., or in discharge of a debt or obligation. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > pay [verb (intransitive)]
payc1387
to pay for——c1387
to come off?1544
settle1788
spring1906
pester1936
c1387–95 G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. 570 Wheither that he payde or took by taille..he was ay biforn and in good staat.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 14041 (MED) Quen it com to þe term dai, Þai had noght quar-of for to pai.
c1475 (c1399) Mum & Sothsegger (Cambr. Ll.4.14) (1936) iii. 157 (MED) The costis were acountid, paye whan he myȝth.
1484 W. Cely Let. 28 Apr. in Cely Lett. (1975) 213 I am yn a goode waye for hytt allredy wyth goode men, and to paye as they fett hytt.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms xxxvi[i]. 21 The vngodly borroweth and paieth not agayne.
1553 T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique i. f. 41v He is very uniust that boroweth, and wil not pay again, but at his pleasure.
1611 Bible (King James) Eccles. v. 5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vowe, than that thou shouldest vowe and not pay . View more context for this quotation
a1658 N. Wallington Hist. Notices (1869) I. Introd. 49 Serve honesty ever,..she will pay, if slow.
1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield II. ii. 39 I readily therefore gave my bond for the money, and testified as much gratitude as if I never intended to pay.
a1786 W. Cowper Yearly Distress 19 He that takes, and he that pays.
1833 H. Martineau French Wines & Politics v. 77 I should be very silly to pay when I might have them without.
1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) III. 205 I will pay when I have the money.
1915 W. S. Maugham Of Human Bondage cix. 578 The landlady's..quite willing to wait till it's convenient for me to pay.
1994 R. Gunesekera Reef (1998) 1 I wrote down the mileage, the volume, the date in a little logbook and went up to the cashier to pay.
b. intransitive. To make (regular) contributions into a fund. Also transitive.to pay in: see to pay in at Phrasal verbs.
ΚΠ
1908 Times 16 June 5/3 There is, however, a class of scheme which is known as a contributory one. There are the German and Belgian schemes, in which the workmen pay into a fund.
1911 Rep. Labour & Social Conditions in Germany (Tariff Reform League) III. 71 Men must pay in to the trade society to which they transfer their labour.
1977 Chem. Week (Nexis) 19 Jan. 19 Gulf will pay into a pension fund the total based on computing $12 monthly multiplied by the employee's years of service.
1991 Moneywise Sept. 15/1 We both pay into a Family Assurance Bond, £13.50 a month.
6. Of a thing, action, occupation, etc.
a. transitive. To furnish or yield (an amount of money); to furnish sufficient money to discharge (a debt, etc.); to provide (an amount of money) as a salary or income.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > pay money or things [verb (transitive)] > pay (a claim, dues, or charge) > be sufficient to
pay1439
cover1828
meet1834
1439–40 in C. Innes Registrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis (1845) I. 239 My lande..and al my gudis to pay ȝerly that annuale of x merkis acht be me.
a1540 (c1460) G. Hay tr. Bk. King Alexander 2076 Than gif thai keip na law to laborage The labour aw nocht for to paye thair wage.
1591 W. McClelland Let. 18 Sept. in R. V. Agnew Corr. P. Waus (1887) II. 478 The croft that me eime michell hes will peye fourtie lbs. and mair.
1659 B. Harris tr. J. N. de Parival Hist. Iron Age ii. i. xviii. 204 Parliament..gave him but two subsidies; which would hardly pay Advance money to the Officers and Souldiers.
1741 T. C. Pagett Misc. Prose & Verse 369 A true Patriot's known, By his Zeal for the Crown, Whilst it pays him his quarterly Fees.
1758 B. Franklin Poor Richard's Almanack (1987) 1297 Industry pays debts, while Despair encreaseth them.
1848 W. M. Thackeray Great Hoggarty Diamond xii That in which poor Mr. Tidd invested his money did not pay 2d. in the pound.
1868 W. Morris Earthly Paradise 555 Cups that had paid the Cæsar's debt Could he have laid his hands on them.
1913 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 22 Feb. 66/2 He had his clerks..make a list of all jobs that pay over four thousand dollars a year.
1993 FIBA Basketball Monthly Mar. 26/2 Basketball is only good beer money—it pays the odd bill that comes in.
b. transitive. Of goods, a commodity, etc.: to be liable for (a duty, toll, etc.); to be liable for payment of (an amount levied as a duty, etc.).
ΚΠ
?c1470 in E. Curtis Cal. Ormond Deeds (1932) II. 355 Every acre yt ys errabil schal pay viii d.
1502 in A. Peterkin Rentals Earldom & Bishoprick of Orkney (1820) i. 6 Tankarnes..payis nather malt scat nor butter scat.
1599 in J. D. Marwick Rec. Convent. Royal Burghs Scotl. (1870) II. 605 Iyrne pottis..sall pay..thre pundis the twn.
1622 G. de Malynes Consuetudo 194 Commodities brought in, which haue payed Custome..may bee shipped out againe by Cocket, without paying any more Custome.
1667 in Rothesay Town Council Rec. (1935) I. 144 All victuall..importit..to pay ane ladill furthe of ich boll.
1709 London Gaz. No. 4509/3 The Sugars must pay French Duties, but on Exportation draws back all but about 2s. per C.
1793 T. Jefferson Public Papers in Writings (1984) xii. 438 Salted beef is received freely for re-exportation; but if for home consumption, it pays five livres the quintal.
1840 F. Marryat Olla Podrida III. 308 Everything must pay toll.
1846 C. Dickens Pictures from Italy 76 Wool must not remain in the Custom House at Marseilles more than twelve months at a stretch, without paying duty.
1909 Daily News 14 Sept. 4/2 Sir William Harcourt wished to establish the rule that property should pay toll once every generation.
1992 Economist 8 Aug. 24/3 Not all big cars will pay more tax..; but, overall, gas-guzzling will cost more.
c. intransitive. To yield an adequate return; to recompense one's expense or trouble; (also) to be profitable or advantageous. it pays to: it is advantageous or worthwhile to (do something).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > be advantageous or beneficial [verb (intransitive)] > result in (adequate) advantage
to turn to accounta1632
pay1774
to bear fruit1889
to pay out1909
to pay off1946
1774 J. Bentham Let. 19 Apr. in Corr. (1968) I. 181 Any thing may do for a trough for an experiment or two to try how things pay.
1812 H. Smith & J. Smith Rejected Addr. 32 The fireman..thought it would not pay To dig him out.
1842 T. P. Thompson Exercises I. 200 If land is uncultivated, it is because it will not pay.
1850 L. Sawyer in Way Sketches (1926) 113 Some of the claims on the rivers are paying well.
1885 ‘F. Anstey’ Tinted Venus iv. 44 You won't find it pay in the long run.
1937 ‘G. Orwell’ Road to Wigan Pier i. 8 I doubt whether any of their businesses had ever paid.
1960 Today 25 June 25 The French find it pays not to complain.
1994 Which? July 36/1 The most expensive policies were two to three times the cheapest, so it pays to shop around for the best deal.
d. transitive. To profit (a person); to be advantageous or worthwhile to.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > getting or making money > get or make money [verb (transitive)] > be profitable to
pay1861
1861 C. Dickens in All Year Round 2 Feb. 484/2 Not directly profitable. That is, it doesn't pay me anything.
1883 Manch. Examiner 19 Dec. 5/2 A practice of insuring with a view to wreck would not pay the shipowning community.
1886 W. W. Randall Senator Bullion ii. 15 As I said before, Senator, it will pay you to keep in with the Railroads.
1925 S. O'Casey Shadow of Gunman in Two Plays II. i. 161 It doesn't pay a working man to write poetry.
1990 T. Cunliffe Easy on Helm xi. 93 It may pay you to drop all your sails as you anchor.
7. transitive. To give money or its equivalent for (goods or services); = to pay for—— at Phrasal verbs.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > pay money or things [verb (transitive)] > bear or defray the cost of
quitc1275
maintaina1425
pay1446
fray1450
abye1503
price?a1513
be1520
to stand to ——1540
disburse1548
defray1581
discharge1587
reimburse1591
discount1647
to be at the charge(s of1655
to pay off1711
stand1808
pop1947
1446 in E. Hobhouse Church-wardens' Accts. (1890) 82 (MED) These ben the parcells that Jon Wyke and Jon Nede..have resevyd and payde, in there offyce beyng.
1478 in E. Hobhouse Church-wardens' Accts. (1890) 5 Comes yong men William Coggan and Nicol Edmonds and presents in of old and new (and a candelstok in the peler next the fonte which cost ij s. j d.), vij s., and the wax paid.
1502–3 Edinb. Hammermen f. 43, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue (at cited word) To pay the menstralis jacat & hois.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) i. x. 38 I thanke you Generall: But cannot make my heart consent to take A Bribe, to pay my Sword. View more context for this quotation
1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. T. Boccalini Ragguagli di Parnasso ii. lxi. 331 Their liberty..cannot be payd by mountains of gold.
1744 S. Fielding Adventures David Simple II. v. 79 She immediately paid her Lodging.
a1790 B. Franklin Autobiogr. (1981) i. 43 By our Expences, I was grown so constantly kept unable to pay my Passage.
1821 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 10 Nov. 4/2 He proposed to elucidate this fact, by immediately trying which could bear to hold his leg longest in hot water, he who gave in first to pay glasses round to the company.
1869 A. Trollope Phineas Finn I. vii. 59 There was one time he could not pay his lodgings for wellnigh nine months, till his governor come down with the money.
a1911 D. G. Phillips Susan Lenox (1917) II. xiv. 339 I'll pay my half of the room.
1994 Storyteller Summer 29/2 It was very ungrateful of your girl to run off after you had already paid her tuition to med-school.
8. transitive. To recompense or reward (a deed, service, or action of any kind), usually by some other act or service. Of a thing: to reward or yield a good return for (labour, toil, effort, etc.). Also reflexive: to pay for (itself) (rare).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > reciprocal treatment or return of an action > treat one as he has been treated [verb (transitive)] > requite or pay back (a person) > an action
yieldOE
acquitc1330
requitec1440
recompensea1450
paya1500
quitc1515
requit1532
reacquite1534
repay1557
quittance1590
retribute1612
the world > action or operation > behaviour > reciprocal treatment or return of an action > reward or a reward > reward or recompense [verb (transitive)] > of things: yield recompense for
repay1610
paya1616
remunerate1820
a1500 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Chetham) l. 3381 + 2 Youre seruice I wyll well payn!
c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme lxii. 40 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 70 Lord,..each mans work is paid by thee.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) v. i. 407 Haste still paies haste. View more context for this quotation
1748 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 26 Apr. (1932) (modernized text) III. 1140 It will more than pay the trouble I have taken to write it.
1782 F. Burney Cecilia II. iv. vi. 185 The first study of life is ease. There is, indeed, no other study that pays the trouble of attainment.
1842 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 3 ii. 185 Chalking land..costs little more than 2l. per acre; pays itself often in the second year.
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. ii. i. 168 ‘I hope it's a good business?’..‘No. Poorly paid.’
1868 G. MacDonald Gospel Women ix. i Enough he labours for his hire; Yea, nought can pay his pain.
1890 A. Martin Home Life Ostrich Farm 28 The crop which best pays cultivation in that arid soil is Indian corn.
2002 Re: I'm still Alive in alt.atheism (Usenet newsgroup) 4 Nov. Linux. It's a bit hard in the beginning, but it pays the effort.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > make equal [verb (transitive)] > compensate or make up for
restorea1325
to make good1389
boot1393
rewarda1398
supplya1398
to make up1472
upset1513
to fetch again1535
redeem1590
balance1594
pay1596
unpay1600
to make out1610
requitea1613
to pay home1625
encourage1628
compensate1646
compensate1656
reprise1662
to take up1662
to fetch up1665
to pay off1717
indemnify1750
to bring up arrears1788
equalize1866
reparate1956
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) 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.
10. transitive and intransitive. Nautical slang. to pay with the fore-topsail and variants: to leave without paying (one's debts or one's creditors).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > non-payment > be unpaid (of money, wages, etc.) [verb (intransitive)] > leave without paying
to pay with the fore-topsail1834
to jump one's bill1888
swedge1897
to skip (one's) bail1900
society > travel > travel by water > [verb (intransitive)] > set out on a voyage > leave port > without paying dues
to pay with the fore-topsail1834
1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple II. viii. 213 I said, the midshipmen had paid their crockery bill with the fore-topsail.
1843 J. F. Cooper Ned Myers 149 We sailed next morning, and I paid for the poor ‘nigger’ with the foretopsail.
1850 H. Melville White-jacket ii. 12 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.
1899 F. T. Bullen Log of Sea-waif 312 He had been paying somebody with the ‘fore-topsail sheet’.
1910 D. W. Bone Brassbounder 262 Paid 'ee wi' tawps'l sheets, didn't 'e?
1961 F. H. Burgess Dict. Sailing 158 Pay debts with flying topsails,..sail away without paying debts.
ΚΠ
1842 Times 5 Feb. 6/3 The Hope, 10, packet-brig..was paid out of commission on Monday.
1866 Naut. Mag. & Naval Chron. Oct. 543 The next day she was taken into the large basin of the dockyard, where she was..inspected..previously to being dismantled and paid out of commission.
1890 Globe 13 Sept. 7/2 The cruiser Forth..pays out of commission to-day.
1922 Times 8 May . 7/5 H.M. battleship Erin was paid out of commission at Sheerness on Saturday, and ordered to be prepared for sale.
III. Figurative and extended uses.† 16. transitive. Nautical. To cause (a ship, a ship's course) to turn to leeward; = to pay off at Phrasal verbs. Obsolete. rare.
12. figurative. To give what is due or deserved to (a person).
a. transitive. In a positive or neutral sense: to reward or recompense (a person) for his or her works, behaviour, character, etc. Also (occasionally) intransitive.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > retributive punishment > inflict (retributive punishment) [verb (transitive)]
wreakc825
payc1330
wreck1764
the world > action or operation > behaviour > reciprocal treatment or return of an action > reward or a reward > reward or recompense [verb (transitive)]
foryield971
yield971
crownc1175
shipec1275
payc1330
to do meeda1350
rewardc1350
guerdonc1374
reguerdona1393
to do (one) whyc1400
quitc1400
recompense1422
salary1477
merit1484
requite1530
requit1532
reacquite1534
to pay home1542
remunerate1542
regratify1545
renumerate?1549
gratify?c1550
acquit1573
consider1585
regratiate1590
guerdonize1594
munerate1595
regratulate1626
reprise1677
sugar-plum1788
ameed1807
recompensate1841
c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 802 (MED) His maister he gan pay: His sones kniȝtes he made.
c1330 Sir Orfeo (Auch.) (1966) 451 (MED) Now aske of me what it be, Largelich ichil þe pay.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) 5789 (MED) Say I shal hem soone pay.
1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope i. xix Thenne is the tyme come that he must be payed of his Werkes and dedes.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) ii. i. 39 So: you'r paid . View more context for this quotation
1679 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Philaster ii. i. 25 I may see A day to pay him for his loyalty.
a1774 O. Goldsmith tr. P. Scarron Comic Romance (1775) III. vii. 232 He was sure to be paid on the double in treats for his condescension.
1850 D. G. Mitchell Lorgnette I. 288 I hope they may reap praise enough to pay them for their pains.
1858 A. Trollope Dr. Thorne III. xvii. 320 That uncle of hers, who had been more loving to her than any father! How was he, too, to be paid?
1867 A. Cary Bishop's Son ii. 26 Isn't there something, dear Samuel, I can do for you, to pay you for all your goodness?
1904 J. Conrad Nostromo ii. vii. 216 They have turned your head with their praises... They have been paying you with words.
1998 Success (Nexis) Aug. 63 Pay with Praise. The most effective..motivators tend to be expressions of praise for specific accomplishments.
b. transitive. In a negative sense: to give (a person) what is due or deserved in respect of his or her faults; to punish, chastise; to take revenge on. Now chiefly in to pay a person in his (also her) own coin and variants (cf. coin n. 7b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > reciprocal treatment or return of an action > revenge > execute (vengeance) [verb (transitive)] > repay (an injury)
pay?c1450
rewardc1475
quitc1515
requite1529
requit1532
quittance1590
retaliate1606
the world > action or operation > behaviour > reciprocal treatment or return of an action > revenge > execute (vengeance) [verb (transitive)] > pay (a person) back
to quit or yield (one) his whilec1400
rewardc1400
pay?c1450
requite1534
to pay back1655
to pay off1699
to pay out1849
to get back at (also now less commonly on)1886
society > authority > punishment > retributive punishment > inflict (retributive punishment) [verb (transitive)] > for an offence or on an offender > inflict retributive punishment upon
yieldc1380
putc1390
rewardc1400
pay?c1450
vengea1470
revenge?1526
avenge1633
to pay back1655
to pay off1699
to serve out1809
to pay out1849
?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 90 (MED) Y canne not tell you the halff of her cruelte..But she was paied..atte the laste.
1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias i. xlvi. 102 b He would paye him for all his faigned lyes.
1681 N. Lee Lucius Junius Brutus v. 69 And do you think he has the heart to kill 'em? No, no... Or if he should, I'm sure The Gods would pay him for't.
1691 T. Southerne Sir Anthony Love v. i. 75 Now, I am sufficiently reveng'd on Valentine and Sir Antony for cheating me; I think I have paid 'em in their own Coin.
1727 W. Somervile Occas. Poems 342 Phillis, at last, To pay him for Offences past..Thus spoke, and gave the Coup de Grace.
1821 Ld. Byron Let. 16 Feb. (1978) VIII. 78 I will pay you for that—mind if I don't—some day.—I never let anyone off in the long run.
1843 J. S. Jones Moll Pitcher (1877) i. iii. 24 Ha! Now will I pay him for his insult to my power!
1858 T. H. Chivers Sons of Usna ii. viii. 39 I must pay him for his treachery!
2001 Africa News (Nexis) 13 Sept. We are living witnesses to what the U.S. did in Sudan, Iraq, Kuwait and other Middle East countries. The U.S. is only being paid in her own coins.
c. transitive. To strike, beat, or flog (a person); to punish by beating. Also: to overcome (a person) in a fight or contest. British regional in later use.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > corporal punishment > administer corporal punishment [verb (transitive)] > beat
threshOE
beatc1000
to lay on?c1225
chastise1362
rapa1400
dressc1405
lack?c1475
paya1500
currya1529
coil1530
cuff1530
baste1533
thwack1533
lick1535
firka1566
trounce1568
fight1570
course1585
bumfeage1589
feague1589
lamback1589
lambskin1589
tickle1592
thrash1593
lam1595
bumfeagle1598
comb1600
fer1600
linge1600
taw1600
tew1600
thrum1604
feeze1612
verberate1614
fly-flap1620
tabor1624
lambaste1637
feak1652
flog1676
to tan (a person's) hide1679
slipper1682
liquora1689
curry-comb1708
whack1721
rump1735
screenge1787
whale1790
lather1797
tat1819
tease1819
larrup1823
warm1824
haze1825
to put (a person) through a course of sprouts1839
flake1841
swish1856
hide1875
triangle1879
to give (a person or thing) gyp1887
soak1892
to loosen (a person's) hide1902
society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > use of wind > avail oneself of a wind [verb (intransitive)] > fall off to leeward
to fall offc1625
to pay away1625
pay1667
to pay off1801
to pay round1825
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin 457 (MED) Gawein paide hym vpon the helme that he fill vpon the palme of his handes.
1581 W. Fleetwood in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1824) 1st Ser. II. 285 Yet were they all sowndly payed, and sent home to there masters.
1612 J. Smith Map of Virginia 33 They patiently enduring and receaving all, defending the children with their naked bodies from the unmercifull blowes that pay them soundly.
1667 S. Pepys Diary 22 Apr. (1974) VIII. 176 Thence home, and find the boy out of the house and office..I did pay his coat for him.
1717 R. Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 224 When he was come within two stone-casts of the church, the people came and met him, and paid his skin to very good purpose.
1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue at Pay I will pay you as Paul paid the Ephesians, over face and eyes, and all your d—d jaws.
a1806 in R. Jamieson Pop. Ballads I. 329 There I paid her baith back and side, Till a' her banes play'd clatter.
1852 G. A. Sala in Househ. Words 9 Oct. 82/1 Saunders,..the self-styled cock of the village—he..met on a Sabbath morning and ‘paid’, knocking him from his cockish eminence..to the very bottom..of a muck-midden.
1927 Daily Express 21 Oct. 7/3 Young man at Willesden: Father knocked me and mother on the floor, and ‘paid’ us there. Magistrate: I suppose you must have a summons.
1935 ‘G. Ingram’ Cockney Cavalcade ii. 24 Only last week I paid you for staying out late.
1977 G. Todd Geordie Words & Phrases 33/1 Divvint fight him 'cos he'll pay ye.
13. To give to a person (that which is due or deserved).
a. transitive. To inflict, bestow, give (punishment, a blow, etc.) as being deserved, or in return for something; to deliver (retribution). Sometimes with the recipient as second object. †to pay the rent (also death-rent) of: to kill.
ΚΠ
c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) 7800 (MED) Swerdes þai drouȝ and ȝeuen dintes And paid paiens deþ-rentes.
a1450–1509 (?a1300) Richard Coer de Lyon (A-version) (1913) 4056 (MED) Kyng R. hys ax in hond he hente, And payde Sarezynys here rent.
c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) lxxxiv. 265 Ye traytours were payed ther desertes.
1582 G. Whetstone Heptameron Ciuill Disc. sig. Riii Ingratitude..receiueth good turnes, and payeth vengeance.
1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. xiii. 60 Hee payes vs shot for shot.
a1716 R. South 12 Serm. (1717) V. 547 If Popery ever comes in by English Hands..it will fully pay the Scores of those, who brought it in.
1819 R. C. Dallas Ode to Duke of Wellington 37 Ye well aveng'd your Leader slain: With deadlier stroke Ye paid again The blow Ye wept to see.
1861 L. Shore Hannibal I. iv. ii. 72 They..burn, I dare be sworn, to pay old scores, Written, these ten years back, in blood and flame.
2000 Townsville (Austral.) Sun (Nexis) 29 Apr. 38 Punishment was often meted out on the spot—which must have given many bearing grudges the chance to pay old scores.
b. transitive. To take on or accept (pain, punishment, suffering, etc.) as a due demanded or inflicted, in exchange for some advantage or gain, or to make amends for a crime, sin, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > [verb (transitive)] > submit to or receive punishment
underliec960
suffera1250
coupc1300
payc1384
get?a1513
drink1677
to take out1910
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Macc. vii. 36 Thou sothely by dome of God shalt paye [v.r. paȝen] iust paynes of pride.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 77 (MED) But he hadde i-leide doun his knyf..boþe schul have i-payde þe payne.
a1522 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid (1959) x. Prol. 130 Blissyt be thou virginal frute, that..pait the pryce of the forbodin tre!
1587 J. Higgins Mirour for Magistrates (new ed.) Pinnar vi Made mee pay the price of pillage with my bloud.
1609 S. Grahame Anat. Humors 29 O haplesse I, who for momentall joyes Must pay long paine with sad repenting teares.
1674 D. Brevint Saul & Samuel 214 Christ..took and paied fully all the punishment due for our sins.
a1716 R. South 12 Serm. (1717) V. 5 Enflaming themselves with Wine, till they come to pay the reckoning with their Blood.
1786 T. Jefferson Let. 11 July in Papers (1954) X. 123 The good offices of our friends cannot procure us a peace without paying it's price.
1860 N. Hawthorne Marble Faun II. ii. 30 We all of us..lose somewhat of our proximity to nature. It is the price we pay for experience.
1890 Spectator 15 Feb. To forget the pain he paid for his discoveries.
1921 H. Crane Let. 14 Jan. (1965) 51 I don't know how much blood I pay for these predicaments.
1997 R. Bennett Catastrophist (1999) 195 She had breached some unwritten rule of her small world, had in some way got above herself, and had paid the penalty.
14.
a. transitive. To give, render (something which is due to or rightfully claimed by the recipient, as homage, allegiance, etc.); to discharge, perform (a promise or vow). Usually with to or double object. Also (occasionally) intransitive.to pay one's debt to nature and variants: see debt n. 4b. to pay one's dues: see due n. Phrases 3.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > giving > give [verb (transitive)] > give as due or fitting
doOE
yieldc1000
pay1340
attribute1523
render1567
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 163 Þis riȝtuolnesse ne may by y-hyealde, ne þis dette ne may by uolliche y-yolde ine þise wordle. Ac ine þise wordle hi is y-wylned and ine þe oþre y-payd.
c1395 G. Chaucer Merchant's Tale 2048 Than he wolde paye his wyf hir dette.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xix. 387 (MED) Þo..hadde ypayed To pieres pardoun þe plowman redde quod debes.
a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) i. 6342 (MED) He..slouh off hem thretti, To paie his promys spoiled hem bi and bi.
c1450 (c1350) Alexander & Dindimus (Bodl.) (1929) 716 (MED) A fair pokok of pris men paien to Juno.
a1500 (?a1400) Sir Torrent of Portyngale (1887) 162 (MED) A-mendes the be-hovythe to pay.
1578 J. Rolland Seuin Seages 334 The Empreour..payit his naturall det.
?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads ii. 22 Nor would [they] pay, Their owne vowes to thee.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals vi, in tr. Virgil Wks. 27 To you the promis'd Poem I will pay.
1724 J. Henley et al. tr. Pliny the Younger Epist. & Panegyrick I. vi. xxvii. 307 I likewise reflected, that many Honours were paid to the worst of Princes.
1792 M. Wollstonecraft Vindic. Rights Woman v. 222 These are the privileges of friendship, or the momentary homage which the heart pays to virtue.
1832 T. H. Chivers Path of Sorrow 80 Thou, Lorain, on Leopolstat's Isle, Shall pay the duty which thou owest here.
1849 H. Melville Redburn xvi. 105 He ended by paying him a grumbling homage, full of resentful reservations.
1914 J. Joyce Dubliners 53 A little knot of people collected on the footpath to pay homage to the snorting motor.
2001 National Post (Canada) 2 May b8/3 A guy like Grover's been paying his dues for decades..and he gets jack-all in the way of respect around here.
b. transitive. With the sense of debt, obligation, etc., weakened or lost: to render, bestow, or give (attention, heed, a compliment, etc.). Usually with to or double object.to pay one's respects: see respect n. Phrases 7.
ΚΠ
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream v. i. 99 Not paying mee a welcome. View more context for this quotation
1667 Earl of Orrery in Poems K. Philips sig. b1 You deserve wonder, and they pay but praise.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 122. ¶5 After having paid their Respects to Sir Roger.
1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. xvi. 167 Farmer Williams..had paid her his addresses.
1796 E. Parsons Myst. Warning II. 222 The Gentlemen paid her many compliments.
1866 Duke of Argyll Reign of Law vii. 429 Too little attention being paid to the progress of opinion.
1882 W. Besant Revolt of Man (1883) vi. 152 They paid little heed to the sermon.
1939 Z. N. Hurston Moses xiv. 139 ‘Pay her no mind, Moses’, Jethro said, dropping into the vernacular.
2002 Belfast Tel. (Nexis) 27 Sept. Taylors paid him the compliment of taking over his thriving business, but keeping him at the helm.
c. transitive. To make (a visit, call, etc.). Usually with to or with double object.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > social event > visit > visiting > visit [verb (transitive)]
seekc893
visit13..
vizyc1425
to go to (also and) see1548
to call upon ——1604
calla1616
paya1616
vis1754
to look up1827
to visit with1850
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) i. i. 6 I thinke, this comming Summer, the King of Sicilia meanes to pay Bohemia the Visitation, which hee iustly owes him. View more context for this quotation
1655 Ld. Orrery Parthenissa III. ii. iv. 353 I went..to pay hir a visit.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 24. ⁋6 Let us pay Visits, but never see one another.
1787 A. Young Jrnl. 28 June in Trav. France (1792) i. 25 The first thing done, by every person who arrives, is to pay a morning visit to each party already in the place.
1847 A. Brontë Agnes Grey xi. 158 Miss Murray was gone in the carriage with her mamma to pay some morning calls.
1896 C. G. D. Roberts Forge in Forest ix. 114 My own house in Grand Pré, where Marc had inhabited of late, and where I was wont to pay my flitting visits.
1902 B. T. Washington Up from Slavery iv. 69 I had to pay a visit to each family and take a meal with each, and at each place tell the story of my experiences.
1989 G. Daly Pre-Raphaelites in Love i. 12 He paid a call on Rossetti armed with a stout stick, prepared to rap him over the head if necessary.
15. transitive. Chiefly Nautical. To let or feed out gradually (a rope, cable, etc.); = to pay out at Phrasal verbs. Also (occasionally) intransitive. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > other nautical operations > [verb (transitive)] > work ropes or cables in specific ways
windc1550
veer1590
veer1604
rousea1625
heave1626
overhaul1626
ease1627
pay1627
reeve1627
unbend1627
to come up1685
overhale1692
to pay away1769
surge1769
render1777
to pay out1793
to round down1793
to set upon ——1793
swig1794
veer1806
snake1815
to side out for a bend1831
rack1841
snub1841
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > longitudinal extent > [verb (transitive)] > lengthen > let out gradually
pay1627
to pay away1769
to pay out1793
1627 J. Smith Sea 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 turnes it ouer boord faster.
1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I. at Cable Sometimes they say, Pay cheap the Cable, i.e. put or hand it out apace.
1710 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum II. at Pay Seamen say Pay more Cable, that is, let out more Cable.
1823 G. Crabb Universal Technol. Dict. To pay the cable cheap, is to hand it out apace.
1875 Times 11 Jan. 11/6 The captain and officers, after consultation, agreed to pay the cable over the bows to lighten the ship.
1904 J. London Sea-wolf xxv. 235 The boat-puller obeyed, taking a turn around the little forward thwart and paying the line as it jerked taut.
1959 Trans. Amer. Inst. Electr. Engineers 78 1155/1 The ship was so berthed that the bow sheaves were in proper alignment with the coiling-down gantry-hauling capstan that paid the cable down into the coil on the wharf.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > use of wind > get into the current of the wind [verb (transitive)] > cause to fall off or to leeward
pay1627
to pay off1790
1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. ix. 42 As she turnes wee say shee is payed.
Phrasal verbs
With adverbs (and prepositions) in specialized senses. to pay away † 2. intransitive. Nautical. Of a ship: to turn to leeward; = to pay off at Phrasal verbs. Obsolete. rare.† 3. transitive. Nautical. To let or feed out gradually (a rope, cable, etc.); = to pay out at Phrasal verbs. Obsolete.† 4. intransitive. figurative. To fight strenuously; to deliver fierce blows at, on, or upon a person; (gen.) to do something energetically, or with zeal. Obsolete.Cf. sense 12c.† 5. transitive. To clear or discharge (a debt); to settle in full (an account). Obsolete. to pay back to pay down to pay for—— † to pay home to pay in to pay off † 4. transitive. To compensate for, make up for; to balance. Obsolete. to pay out † 1. transitive. To restore (a thing). Obsolete. to pay over † to pay round to pay up
1. transitive. To give out as payment; to spend (money) freely; (also) to use up completely (a sum or fund of money). Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > pay money or things [verb (transitive)]
yieldc893
pay?c1225
spendc1450
make1473
redd1491
to pay in1623
betall1630
to pay away1731
fund1843
spring1851
1602 T. Dekker Blurt Master-Constable sig. H2v For paying away my heart, that was my owne, Fight not to win that, in good troth tis gone.
1607 T. Middleton Michaelmas Terme sig. I How now Ladie, paying away money so fast?
1620 tr. G. Boccaccio Decameron II. vi. x. sig. E4v Those [Crowns] which he payed away dayly, as hauing no conuenient imployment for them.
1731 E. Thomas Pylades & Corinna sig. e5v The first Payment I received, and paid away in three Days among her Creditors, and mine, without keeping a single Shilling to my own Use.
1776 A. Smith Inq. Wealth of Nations I. ii. ii. 360 These [sc. promissory notes] the merchants pay away to the manufacturers for goods. View more context for this quotation
1872 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch II. xxv. 50 Your mother will have to pay away her ninety-two pounds that she has saved.
1894 J. Davidson Bruce iii. i. 172 His foster-mother, who had paid away The earnings of her lifetime for his corpse.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 7/1 The particular accusations being that he brought back into his purse, by the aid of the devil, all the money he paid away.
2003 Mondaq Business Briefing (Nexis) 31 Jan. He knew perfectly well that he was helping to pay away money to which the recipient was not entitled.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > use of wind > avail oneself of a wind [verb (intransitive)] > fall off to leeward
to fall offc1625
to pay away1625
pay1667
to pay off1801
to pay round1825
1625 in W. Foster Eng. Factories India 1624–9 (1909) 54 [The Portuguese] payde away, vearinge to delay time for our cominge upp with them.
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. i. ii. 19 The Chase pays away more room.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > other nautical operations > [verb (transitive)] > work ropes or cables in specific ways
windc1550
veer1590
veer1604
rousea1625
heave1626
overhaul1626
ease1627
pay1627
reeve1627
unbend1627
to come up1685
overhale1692
to pay away1769
surge1769
render1777
to pay out1793
to round down1793
to set upon ——1793
swig1794
veer1806
snake1815
to side out for a bend1831
rack1841
snub1841
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > longitudinal extent > [verb (transitive)] > lengthen > let out gradually
pay1627
to pay away1769
to pay out1793
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine sig. I2 Pay away the Cable! slacken it, that it may run out of the ship.
1777 R. Hitchcock Coquette ii. i. 18 Avast, avast, tack about, and pay away no more of that cable.
?1858 C. H. Saunders Pirate's Legacy ii. iii. 21 By the powers! he pays away his cable finely.
1882 Times 21 June 12/6 The fishermen on the French mark boat had to pay away their cable to prevent her touching.
ΚΠ
1770 Trial W. Wemms 114 The Grenadier gave a twitch back and relieved his gun, and he up with it and began to pay away on the people.
1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue at Pay To pay away, to fight manfully, also to eat voraciously.
1796 W. Dunlap Archers iii. v. 72 The duke, too, pays away among our bowmen, whenever he can come at them.
1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers xl. 440 Bravo! Heel over toe—cut and shuffle—pay away at it, Zephyr!
1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xx. 208 The other Kanaka seized him by the tail, and made a spring towards the beach, his companion at the same time paying away upon him with stones and a large stick.
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin II. xl. 274 Pay away, till he gives up! Give it to him!—give it to him!
ΚΠ
1782 F. Burney Cecilia II. iii. iii. 38 I never run in debt for more than half a year, for as soon as I receive my own money, I generally pay it away every shilling.
1809 R. Langford Introd. Trade 95 I was to have paid away your note tomorrow.
1. transitive. To repay (money, a debt); to repay (a creditor). Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > insolvency > indebtedness > owe [verb (transitive)] > repay debt
repay1439
to pay back1598
quata1600
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. iii. 179 The mony is paid backe againe. View more context for this quotation
1692 Acts & Laws Massachussets-Bay 7 Every one to whom any Share shall be allotted..if Debts afterwards be made to appear, to Refund and Pay back to the Administrator, His or Her Ratable part thereof.
1750 S. Johnson Rambler No. 48. ⁋10 [He] must not only pay back the hours but pay them back with usury.
1787 J. Bentham Def. Usury vii. 71 He immediately pays back his 30 roubles.
1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers xliii. 471 The testator was not quite right in his head, and I must pay back all the money again, and all the costs.
1895 T. Hardy Jude vi. vii. 477 Whatever you advance I'll pay back to you again.
1923 P. G. Wodehouse Adventures of Sally xiv. 177 He was hoping all along that this fight would pan out big and that he'd be able to pay you back what you had loaned him.
1992 D. Morgan Rising in West ii. v. 92 He sometimes borrowed back his truck drivers' wages..but he always paid them back.
2. transitive. figurative. To give (a person) what is due or deserved in respect of his or her faults, shortcomings, misbehaviour, etc.; to chastise, punish; to take revenge on.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > reciprocal treatment or return of an action > revenge > execute (vengeance) [verb (transitive)] > pay (a person) back
to quit or yield (one) his whilec1400
rewardc1400
pay?c1450
requite1534
to pay back1655
to pay off1699
to pay out1849
to get back at (also now less commonly on)1886
society > authority > punishment > retributive punishment > inflict (retributive punishment) [verb (transitive)] > for an offence or on an offender > inflict retributive punishment upon
yieldc1380
putc1390
rewardc1400
pay?c1450
vengea1470
revenge?1526
avenge1633
to pay back1655
to pay off1699
to serve out1809
to pay out1849
1655 J. Shirley Polititian i. 8 If he tempt her To sinne, that's paid him back in his wives loosness.
1665 C. Cotton Scarronnides 100 I've found at last A way,..If thou in the exploit wilt joyn, Shall pay him back in his own coin.
1729 C. Beckingahm Sarah 7 The Insults you on Earth vouchsaf'd my Pain, I'll Here with Int'rest pay Thee back again.
1816 M. Holford Margaret of Anjou viii. 216 That stroke has reach'd thee! Montague Does pay thee back the festering sting From injured Warwick due!
1889 ‘M. Twain’ Connecticut Yankee xviii I had a great desire to rack the executioner..to pay him back for wantonly cuffing and otherwise distressing that young woman.
1934 J. O'Hara Appointment in Samarra (1935) vii. 211 So then you turn around and pay him back by..making a monkey out of him right in his own spot.
1989 J. Winterson Sexing Cherry (1991) 32 Remember that a woman, if cheated, will never forget and will some day pay you back.
3. transitive. In subtraction: to compensate for borrowing (borrow v.1 1c) 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 borrowed unit from the minuend of the next higher denomination).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > perform arithmetic or algebraic operations [verb (transitive)] > subtract > borrow > compensate for this
to pay back1897
1897 Daily 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.
1984 Jrnl. Exper. Educ. 53 109/2 In the Greek method,..students are taught to ‘pay back’ the borrowed 10 by adding 1 to the 1 of 16—in other words, the borrowed 10 is later paid back to the subtrahend.
1. transitive. To lay down or hand over (money) in payment; to pay (money) promptly or immediately, esp. as a guarantee of future payments. Also (occasionally) intransitive. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > pay money or things [verb (transitive)] > pay immediately or cash
to pay down?a1425
tender down1607
plank1824
plunk1890
plump1892
?a1425 (a1415) Lanterne of Liȝt (Harl.) (1917) 104 (MED) Paie doun money from ȝoure purse, to my lordis almes.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 245v Augustus..had paied down for him out of his cofers in readie mony one hu[n]dred thousande crounes.
a1550 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Wemyss) v. 2946 [That the teindis] Suld..be payit doune Baith of nobill [? read mobill] and monay.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) v. i. 3 You haue..indeed pay'd downe More penitence, then done trespas. View more context for this quotation
1649 Bp. J. Hall Resol. & Decisions i. iv. 34 Those who are able to pay downe ready money..know to expect a better pennyworth, then those that runne upon trust.
1711 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) VI. 704 To pay down..half of that as a depositum for the remaining parts.
1764 G. G. Beekman Let. 12 Feb. in Beekman Mercantile Papers (1956) I. 460 You may have them on the following Reasonable Terms... If you will pay half down and the other half in 4 months at 112 1/2 per Cent.
1839 C. F. Briggs Adventures Harry Franco II. iv. 33 Ten per cent. of the purchase money to be paid down, and the balance to be paid in five annual instalments.
1885 Manch. Examiner 21 July 5/2 They had to pay down one-fourth of the price in ready cash.
1923 H. A. Gibbons Europe since 1918 xxvi. 531 The German Cabinet was firm in its refusal to pay down 12,000,000,000 gold marks on account before May 1.
1992 N. Barber Other Side of Paradise (BNC) 89 I've already paid down two-thirds for an artist's cottage in Sausolito.
2. transitive. To reduce (a debt) by making a payment; to clear (a debt).
ΚΠ
1928 Amer. Econ. Rev. 18 2 Are we paying down our debt at the rate of from $750,000,000 to $1,000,000,000 a year, in order at the end of the process to cancel our foreign claims and exempt the foreign taxpayer?
1956 Jrnl. Finance 11 175 Such eagerness on the part of the consumer to pay down his mortgage is clear indication that he finds his debt burden neither crushing, groaning, nor oppressive.
2003 Bookseller 25 Apr. 7/4 Bertelsmann will use the new money in part to pay down its $2.74bn (£1.9bn) debt.
1. intransitive. Of a person: to give (money or other equivalent) for goods or services; to bear (the cost of something); to recompense (labour, etc.). Of a fund or amount of money, etc.: to produce or provide (resources sufficient for a purchase, expense, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > pay [verb (intransitive)]
payc1387
to pay for——c1387
to come off?1544
settle1788
spring1906
pester1936
c1387–95 G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. 834 Who so be rebel to my iuggement Shal paye for al that by the wey is spent.
c1400 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. iii. 126 (MED) She..letiþ passe prisoners & paieþ [v.rr. payet, payȝeth, pays] for hem ofte, And ȝiueþ þe gaileris gold.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 191 There shall no golde undir God pay for youre raunsom.
1522 in Hereford Munic. MSS (transcript) (O.E.D. Archive) I. ii. 171 Whiche passed agaynst yo[u]r orator wrongfully And now by favo[u]r entendith to have Judgement awarded therupon wrongfully and so to have yo[u]r orator to pay for the said Cowe and Calfe.
1620 tr. G. Boccaccio Decameron II. xi. v. f. 122 At diuers close and sodain meetings, they made him pay for many dinners & suppers, amounting to indifferent charges.
1678 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 191 If a man runs an 100 l. into the Shop-keepers debt, and after that shall pay for all that he shall fetch, yet his old debt stands still in the Book uncrossed. View more context for this quotation
1722 D. Defoe Moll Flanders 336 I offer'd him to pay for the two Peices whatever the value was, tho' I had not got them.
1765 J. Dickinson Late Regulations Brit. Colonies i These remittances are not sufficient to pay for those things we want from home.
1848 A. Brontë Tenant of Wildfell Hall I. viii. 146 ‘I'm sorry to offend you, Mr Markham,’ said she, ‘but unless I pay for the book, I cannot take it.’
1880 Harper's Mag. June 28/2 The price paid for the making of chemises by the dozen..is a dollar and twenty cents.
1915 J. Buchan Thirty-nine Steps iii. 75 They paid for their drinks with half-a-sovereign.
1991 Boston Globe 22 Sept. (Mag.) 19/2 Their first-class sleeper car was paid for by the Jewish Agency for Israel.
2. intransitive. figurative. To make amends or atone for a crime, sin, etc.; to suffer or be punished for any fault or act of wrongdoing. Frequently with dear(ly).Cf. sense 13b.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > atonement > atone for [verb (transitive)]
beetc897
i-bye10..
abyelOE
answer?a1300
buya1300
amendc1300
mendc1330
forbuy1340
redressa1387
answera1400
byea1400
filla1400
peasea1400
ransoma1400
to pay for——c1400
recompense?a1439
abidea1450
satisfyc1460
redeema1464
repaira1513
syth1513
reconcile1535
acquit1567
dispense1590
assoil1596
propitiate1610
expiatea1626
atone1661
retrievea1679
society > authority > punishment > [verb (intransitive)] > receive punishment
shendc897
drinka1340
sufferc1380
to kiss the roda1586
to pay for——a1593
to give, get goss1840
to come in for it1841
to cop it1884
c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. xvii. 31 Operis satisfactio..for synnes payeth.
1533 J. Gau tr. C. Pedersen Richt Vay 69 God..laid al our sinnis apone hime and he payit for thayme.
1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 10v The riche it compelleth, to pay for his pride, the poore, it vndoeth on euery side.
a1593 C. Marlowe Edward II (1594) sig. K4v Yet he that is the cause of Edwards death, Is sure to pay for it when his sonne is of age.
1612 Bp. J. Hall Contempl. I. O.T. ii. 145 Lot paies deere for his rashnesse.
1620 tr. G. Boccaccio Decameron I. iii. viii. f. 106v It was now thought high time, that Ferando should be..set free from the paines of Purgatory, as hauing payed for his iealousie dearely.
1688 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress (ed. 11) 18-19 (caption) When Christians unto carnal men give ear, Out of their way they go, and pay for't dear.
1707 E. Ward Wooden World Dissected 94 He's resolv'd never to be a Rogue where he's sure to pay for it.
1722 D. Defoe Moll Flanders 17 He..had too much Judgment of things to pay too dear for his Pleasures.
1826 J. F. Cooper Last of Mohicans I. xvi. 249 Dearly did she pay for the blessing she bestowed.
1868 J. Blackwood Let. 1 Apr. in George Eliot's Lett. (1956) IV. 427 Even here it is positively warm... We shall probably pay for it with a snow storm in..May.
1900 London Let. 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.
1974 Sunday Punch (Port of Spain) 2 June 9 Recently one feller was made to pay for his mouth, after he alleged that a schoolgirl was pregnant.
1984 S. Steward & S. Garratt Signed, Sealed, & Delivered i. 16/2 Other women, however, are not so lucky—and pay dearly for breaking the rules.
3. intransitive (reflexive). Of a purchase, investment, venture, etc.: to earn or save enough money to cover its own costs; (of a business, etc.) to yield a profit.
ΚΠ
1725 J. Swift Let. 27 Aug. (1766) 220 I thank you for the purchase you have made of Bristow beer; it will soon pay for itself, by saving me many a bottle of wine.
1765 T. Smollett Contin. Hist. Eng. II. 195 Its patrons maintained..that the war had paid for itself.
1805 T. Jefferson Second Inaugural Addr. 4 Mar. in Writings (1984) 519 That extension may possibly pay for itself before we are called on, and in the meantime, may keep down the accruing interest.
1847 Commerc. Rev. South & West June 478 It is highly probable that..the construction of the road..[will] pay for itself in the precious metals laid bare by the excavation.
1871 E. J. Goodspeed Hist. Great Fires Chicago 108 They [sc. tunnels] were finished none too soon, for in the present distress they have paid for themselves.
1933 H. Belloc Characters of Reformation iii. 34 The cost of the administration of justice more than paid for itself by fines and fees.
1993 Macworld Dec. 20/3 More processing horsepower quickly pays for itself.
Obsolete.
1. transitive. To recompense or requite to the full amount. Chiefly in a negative sense: to punish as much as is deserved; to take revenge on.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > reciprocal treatment or return of an action > reward or a reward > reward or recompense [verb (transitive)]
foryield971
yield971
crownc1175
shipec1275
payc1330
to do meeda1350
rewardc1350
guerdonc1374
reguerdona1393
to do (one) whyc1400
quitc1400
recompense1422
salary1477
merit1484
requite1530
requit1532
reacquite1534
to pay home1542
remunerate1542
regratify1545
renumerate?1549
gratify?c1550
acquit1573
consider1585
regratiate1590
guerdonize1594
munerate1595
regratulate1626
reprise1677
sugar-plum1788
ameed1807
recompensate1841
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes sig. q4 Plato paied Diogenes home again wel enough, and gaue as good as he brought.
1567 J. Maplet Greene Forest f. 101v If any man come neare hir behinde she payeth him home.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) v. i. 70 I will pay thy graces Home both in word, and deede. View more context for this quotation
a1643 J. Shute Sarah & Hagar (1649) 178 The Sin of Oppression, sure enough, will be payed home, either here, or in hell, or in both.
1673 F. Kirkman Unlucky Citizen 291 He thought to purchase honour by disgracing his friend, but he was out-witted, and paid home for his abuse.
1723 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack (ed. 2) 238 The Devil owing me a Spleen, ever since I refus'd being a Thief, paid me home, with my Interest, by laying a Snare in my way.
1774 H. Kelly School for Wives iv. 66 Zounds! we shall be paid home, for the tricks we have play'd in other families.
1815 C. E. Grice Battle New Orleans iv. ii. 45 Now sweet revenge let me pay home my debt.
1851 L. S. C. McCord Caius Gracchus iv. v. 89 Forever driven to the wall by fraud From these our task-masters,—yet be reproached When in their own base coin we pay them home.
1876 C. Wells Joseph & his Brethren ii. iii. 132 He surely shall be paid full home That honours lords above a lady's love.
2. transitive. To compensate for; = to pay off at Phrasal verbs. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > make equal [verb (transitive)] > compensate or make up for
restorea1325
to make good1389
boot1393
rewarda1398
supplya1398
to make up1472
upset1513
to fetch again1535
redeem1590
balance1594
pay1596
unpay1600
to make out1610
requitea1613
to pay home1625
encourage1628
compensate1646
compensate1656
reprise1662
to take up1662
to fetch up1665
to pay off1717
indemnify1750
to bring up arrears1788
equalize1866
reparate1956
1625 J. Ussher Answer to Jesuite 171 If Montanus comes short in his testimonie, Origen..payes it home with full measure.
transitive. To deposit (money, a cheque, etc.) in a bank account or other fund.See also sense 5b.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > pay money or things [verb (transitive)]
yieldc893
pay?c1225
spendc1450
make1473
redd1491
to pay in1623
betall1630
to pay away1731
fund1843
spring1851
society > trade and finance > financial dealings > types of money-dealing > [verb (transitive)] > deposit (money)
to pay in1623
deposit1735
bank1792
society > trade and finance > financial dealings > banking > bank [verb (transitive)] > pay into bank
to pay in1623
to cash in1904
1623 T. Powell Wheresoeuer you see Mee 22 For the monie taken vp of the Scriuener, the interest onely needs to bee paid in as yet.
1640 Act 16 Chas. I c. 37 §1 Diverse great summes of money have beene subscribed some part whereof is already paid in.
1683 London Gaz. No. 1864/8 As soon as the whole Sum is paid in, a short day will be appointed,..for the drawing thereof.
1723 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack (ed. 2) 72 He had paid in all the Money.
1776 A. Smith Inq. Wealth of Nations I. ii. ii. 380 This sum ought to have been paid in at several different installments. View more context for this quotation
1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers xxxv. 396 Nothing was heard..except the chinking of money as it was paid in by the people to the collector of the Royal Treasures.
1861 Temple Bar 4 20 Paying in money, and drawing money out, at his employer's bank.
1936 J. Devanny Sugar Heaven 20 The cockies are supposed to pay this retention money into the bank..but normally they don't pay it in.
1991 Which? Oct. 548/2 This [statement] may include cheques that you've recently paid in and which could still be bounced.
1.
a. transitive. To settle in full (an account, etc.); to clear (a debt or claim) by making a payment or payments. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > payment of debt > pay debt [verb (transitive)]
quit?c1225
acquita1250
to pay up1434
satisfy1437
discharge1439
defease1480
persolve1548
solve1558
defray1576
affray1584
clear1600
to pay off1607
extinguish1630
to lay downa1640
wipe1668
settle1688
sink1694
retrieve1711
to clear up1726
balance1740
liquidate1755
to clear off1766
square1821
amortize1830
society > trade and finance > payment > pay money or things [verb (transitive)] > bear or defray the cost of
quitc1275
maintaina1425
pay1446
fray1450
abye1503
price?a1513
be1520
to stand to ——1540
disburse1548
defray1581
discharge1587
reimburse1591
discount1647
to be at the charge(s of1655
to pay off1711
stand1808
pop1947
1607 T. Dekker Whore of Babylon sig. I4v All my sinnes are paid off.
1672 A. Marvell Rehearsal Transpos'd i. 4 The press hath ought him a shame a long time, and is but now beginning to pay off the debt.
1711 E. Budgell Spectator No. 150. ⁋9 I'll pay off your extravagant Bills once more.
1791 T. Paine Rights of Man i. 150 While Mr Burke has been talking of a general bankruptcy in France, the National Assembly has been paying off the capital of its debt.
1864 E. Morris How to get Farm (ed. 2) xiv. 311 From the butter he had sold he had soon paid off the loan of £5.
1885 Law Rep.: Chancery Div. 29 459 To enable the directors to pay off pressing liabilities.
1926 E. Waugh Jrnl. 2 Oct. in Diaries (1979) 266 I paid off all my debts in Oxford, marching from shop to shop.
2000 Reader's Digest Oct. 182/1 (advt.) You can make ‘overpayments’, which will help pay off your mortgage faster.
b. transitive. To avenge (an insult, wrong, etc.); to settle (a grudge). Chiefly in to pay off old scores and variants (cf. score n. 11b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > reciprocal treatment or return of an action > revenge > execute (vengeance) [verb (transitive)] > avenge (an injury or injured person)
wreakc825
awreak1048
righta1275
wrackc1275
wrakec1275
venge1303
bewreakc1325
avenge1377
hevena1400
sella1400
revengec1425
countervenge1523
wrecka1593
redeem1598
vindicate1623
to pay off1749
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones III. ix. vi. 357 I don't question but he'll pay off some old Scores, upon my Account. View more context for this quotation
1815 J. H. Payne Trial without Jury iii. ii, in America's Lost Plays (1940) V. 53 What, you'll have to pay off your old scores at last, will ye?
1888 J. Hawthorne Tragic Myst. iii To pay off some grudge.
1918 L. Strachey Eminent Victorians 67 The old scores, they found, were not to be paid off, but to be wiped out.
1995 E. Toman Dancing in Limbo ii. 53 There is no such thing as a free lunch, they told themselves. A few old scores were paid off, of course, but on the whole they remained distinctly lukewarm about the whole project.
2.
a. transitive. To pay and discharge (an employee); to make a full payment to (a creditor). Also: to hand over the full remuneration for or cost of (something).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > lack of work > [verb (transitive)] > dismiss or discharge
to put awaya1387
discharge1428
dismiss1477
to put out of wages1542
discard1589
to turn away1602
to put off1608
disemploy1619
to pay off1648
to pay off1651
to turn out1667
to turn off1676
quietus1688
strip1756
trundle1794
unshop1839
shopc1840
to lay off1841
sack1841
drop1845
to give (a person) the shoot1846
bag1848
swap1862
fire1879
to knock off1881
bounce1884
to give (a person) the pushc1886
to give (a person) the boot or the order of the boot1888
bump1899
spear1911
to strike (a medical practitioner, etc.) off the register1911
terminate1920
tramp1941
shitcan1961
pink slip1966
dehire1970
resize1975
to give a person his jotters1990
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > [verb (intransitive)] > pay in full and discharge
to pay up1647
to pay off1742
1648 Perfect Weekly Acct. 15 Oct.–1 Nov. 260 The Army being paid off from the 15. of Jan. [printed Jen.] last, the Generall is willing that free quarter be deducted.
1678–9 E. Conway Let. Feb. (1992) vii. 449 As soone as I come to Ragley I shall certainly pay off all the Servants and others.
1704 Boston News-let. 13 Nov. 2/1 Which Flyboat had on board..a great many Passengers, and a great Sum of Mony to pay off the Souldiers.
1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 143. ⁋1 I..desired her to pay off her Coach, for I had a great deal to talk to her.
1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews I. i. vi. 33 ‘As for Joseph, you may discard him too.’ ‘Would your Ladyship have him paid off immediately?’ cries Slipslop. View more context for this quotation
1792 C. Smith Desmond I. xxi The two executions..were paid off by I know not what means.
1863 C. Reade Hard Cash III. viii. 186 He paid off the cab in Pembroke Street.
1885 R. Jefferies After London ii. vi. 159 The old Prince, who, from his private resources, paid off the most pressing creditors.
1958 L. Uris Exodus i. i. 9 The taxi pulled to a stop. The bellboy gathered in Mark's luggage. Mark paid off his driver and looked about.
1989 W. McIlvanney Walking Wounded 103 It is perhaps a good thing that he no longer has his redundancy money. When he was paid off, he was offered £30 a month or a small lump sum.
b. transitive. Nautical. To pay and discharge the crew of (a ship) upon completion of a commission; to decommission (a ship).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > lack of work > [verb (transitive)] > dismiss or discharge
to put awaya1387
discharge1428
dismiss1477
to put out of wages1542
discard1589
to turn away1602
to put off1608
disemploy1619
to pay off1648
to pay off1651
to turn out1667
to turn off1676
quietus1688
strip1756
trundle1794
unshop1839
shopc1840
to lay off1841
sack1841
drop1845
to give (a person) the shoot1846
bag1848
swap1862
fire1879
to knock off1881
bounce1884
to give (a person) the pushc1886
to give (a person) the boot or the order of the boot1888
bump1899
spear1911
to strike (a medical practitioner, etc.) off the register1911
terminate1920
tramp1941
shitcan1961
pink slip1966
dehire1970
resize1975
to give a person his jotters1990
1651 Severall Proc. Parl. No. 85. 1301 These are to give you to understand, that I being under sail comming homewards to Victuall and Tallow, and pay off my men.
1802 Naval Chron. 8 172 The Fisgard..was paid off all standing, directly recommissioned.
1836 F. Marryat Mr. Midshipman Easy I. xi. 161 The ship to which he had been appointed was paid off.
1978 Daily Tel. 28 Mar. 3 The cruiser Delhi, 7,800 tons, formerly the Achilles of River Plate fame, will be paid off at Bombay in May unless there is a move to save the 45-year-old ship as a museum.
2003 Daily Tel. 15 Jan. 23/4 Old ships are paid off well in advance (sometimes years) of new tonnage being delivered by the shipyard.
c. intransitive. Nautical. Of a ship: to be decommissioned, to have its crew paid in full and discharged. Of a crew member: to leave a ship after receiving pay owed.
ΚΠ
1858 Times 28 Aug. 10/6 The Agamemnon comes back to Portsmouth and pays off.
1896 Daily News 21 Aug. 2/5 The Meteor..is to pay off immediately and proceed to lay up.
1932 S. Knock Clear Lower Deck xx. 146 Finally, there were those to become blushing bridegrooms on the ship paying off.
1978 Navy News Oct. 2/5 H.M.S. Finwhale, the Porpoise-class patrol submarine launched in 1959, will pay off on November 6.
1990 J. McPhee Looking for Ship 46 When Ramsay pays off in Charleston, he rides Amtrak home to Delaware.
2003 Somerset & Dorset Notes & Queries Mar. 211 The Basilisk was on her way home and she eventually paid off in 1874.
3. transitive. To give (a person) what is due or deserved in respect of his or her faults, shortcomings, misbehaviour, etc.; to take revenge on.In quot. 1699: to beat, punish.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > reciprocal treatment or return of an action > revenge > execute (vengeance) [verb (transitive)] > pay (a person) back
to quit or yield (one) his whilec1400
rewardc1400
pay?c1450
requite1534
to pay back1655
to pay off1699
to pay out1849
to get back at (also now less commonly on)1886
society > authority > punishment > retributive punishment > inflict (retributive punishment) [verb (transitive)] > for an offence or on an offender > inflict retributive punishment upon
yieldc1380
putc1390
rewardc1400
pay?c1450
vengea1470
revenge?1526
avenge1633
to pay back1655
to pay off1699
to serve out1809
to pay out1849
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Clapperclaw'd, beat soundly, or paid off in earnest.
1707 tr. P. Le Lorrain de Vallemont Curiosities in Husbandry & Gardening 242 He pays off Aristotle and his Followers with too violent a Zeal.
1711 Spectator No. 174 Sir Roger..thinks he has paid me off, and been very severe upon the merchant.
1778 F. Burney Let. 16–21 Sept. in Early Jrnls. & Lett. (1994) 154 Now she daintys us up..with all the meekness in the World,—but when we are away, I suppose she pays us off finely!
1845 Times 31 July 7/6 The latter observed, with a great oath, that ‘he owed Mr. Snell a kindness, for his son had sent him to prison, and he would pay him off’.
1884 'Tis all a Farce i. i. 3 I am paid off for all my tricks with a vengeance.
1935 Amer. Speech 10 12/1 To ante up, to even up a score against an enemy... Modern to pay off.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > make equal [verb (transitive)] > compensate or make up for
restorea1325
to make good1389
boot1393
rewarda1398
supplya1398
to make up1472
upset1513
to fetch again1535
redeem1590
balance1594
pay1596
unpay1600
to make out1610
requitea1613
to pay home1625
encourage1628
compensate1646
compensate1656
reprise1662
to take up1662
to fetch up1665
to pay off1717
indemnify1750
to bring up arrears1788
equalize1866
reparate1956
1717 S. Centlivre Cruel Gift Epil. He thought he paid it off with being smart.
1738 J. Swift Compl. Coll. Genteel Conversat. 31 Miss says nothing; but I warrant she pays it off with Thinking.
a1800 W. Cowper Wks. (1835–7) VIII. 16 Though he little said, He paid it off with thinking.
1821 T. Jefferson Autobiogr. in Writings (1984) 22 Paying off former crimes committed against the liberties of one people, with crimes which he urges them to commit against the lives of another.
5. † a. transitive. Nautical. To cause (a ship, a ship's course) to turn to leeward. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > use of wind > get into the current of the wind [verb (transitive)] > cause to fall off or to leeward
pay1627
to pay off1790
1790 E. Riou Jrnl. 23 Feb. in Last Voy. of Guardian (1990) 110 But the SE..took the head sails and paid off the ship, by which means we very nearly ruined a Dutch India ship.
1801 Knight & Mason IV. 41 They were obliged to pay her head off.
1830 F. Marryat King's Own I. xiii. 193 The commander..payed his vessel off before the wind.
1896 Times 20 Aug. 5/3 If the Isolde had not paid her head off out of her course I should have got through clear.
b. intransitive. Nautical. Of a ship or a ship's course: to turn to leeward.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > use of wind > avail oneself of a wind [verb (intransitive)] > fall off to leeward
to fall offc1625
to pay away1625
pay1667
to pay off1801
to pay round1825
1801 Knight & Mason II. 28 When ship paid off suddenly.
1836 F. Marryat Mr. Midshipman Easy II. x. 291 The frigate flew round, describing a circle, as she payed off before the wind.
1899 F. T. Bullen Log of Sea-waif 213 There was a great bustle to get sail off her, but unfortunately she paid off rather smartly.
1904 J. London Sea-wolf xvii. 160 Wolf Larsen put the wheel hard up, to port, and we began to pay off.
1961 F. H. Burgess Dict. Sailing 151 Nothing off, helm order to keep her as close to the wind or as near on course as she is, and not let her pay off.
1996 Times 3 Feb. 23/8 The ship's head was paying off the whole time, making it extremely dangerous for the lifeboat.
6. transitive. Originally and chiefly U.S. To bribe; to buy off. Also intransitive: to pay a bribe. Cf. pay-off n. 4.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > illegal payment or exaction > [verb (transitive)] > bribe
meedOE
underorna1325
corrump1387
forbuy1393
hirec1400
wage1461
fee1487
under-arearc1503
bribe1528
grease1528
money1528
corrupt1548
budc1565
to feed with money1567
to put out a person's eyes with (a gift, bribe, etc.)1580
sweeten1594
to grease the fist or (one) in the fist1598
over-bribe1619
to buy off1629
palter1641
to take off1646
buy1652
overmoneya1661
bub1684
to speak to ——1687
to tickle in the palm1694
daub1699
overbuy1710
touch1752
palm1767
to get at ——1780
fix1790
subsidize1793
sop1837
to buy over1848
backsheesh1850
nobble1856
square1859
hippodrome1866
see1867
boodleize1883
boodle1886
to get to ——1901
reach1906
straighten1923
lubricate1928
to keep (someone) sweet1939
sling1939
to pay off1942
bung1950
1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang § 493/5 Bribe, pay off.
1952 J. Lait & L. Mortimer U.S.A. Confidential i. iii. 23 Bribes..and other funds which must be moved can be pushed over a crap or roulette table to make it look as if the remittee won the money, instead of being paid off.
1955 D. W. Maurer in Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. No. 24. 145 Sometimes..there is an airtight arrangement under which the pickpockets who pay off are protected, while..those who do not may be arrested and framed.
1971 N.Y. Times 19 Oct. 47 The gamblers of the city paid off the policemen on a regular monthly basis after they had been placed on what is called ‘the pad’.
1991 J. Phillips You'll never eat Lunch in this Town Again (1992) 347 ‘Is Baba Sheek gonna have to pay someone off?’..‘Not yet. I'm determined to try the red-tape method.’
7. intransitive. Of a plan, action, measure, etc.: to succeed; to be profitable or advantageous; to produce desired results.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > be advantageous or beneficial [verb (intransitive)] > result in (adequate) advantage
to turn to accounta1632
pay1774
to bear fruit1889
to pay out1909
to pay off1946
1946 Liberty 1 June 77/1 The ‘soppy’..stuff just won't pay off much longer.
1953 J. Wain Hurry on Down iv. 73 Like a good many insane actions, it paid off.
1957 Listener 7 Nov. 757/1 Still, the cool piece of blackmail and bluff paid off.
1967 Technol. Week 23 Jan. 61/1 (advt.) Our aim is to make current space hardware and experience pay off for the national space program.
1978 T. Allbeury Lantern Network viii. 93 By mid-May the training had begun to pay off.
1992 Economist 11 Apr. 28/2 He took risks that mostly paid off.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > giving > giving back or restitution > give back [verb (transitive)]
yieldc897
agiveOE
again-setOE
restorec1325
acquitc1330
to pay outa1382
refundc1386
to give againa1400
quita1400
restituec1400
reliver1426
surrend1450
redeliver1490
refer1496
render1513
rebail1539
re-present1564
regive1575
to give backa1586
to turn back1587
relate1590
turn1597
returna1632
to hand back1638
redonate1656
reappropriate1659
re-cede1684
revert1688
replace1776
restitute1885
to kick back1926
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1965) Psalms lxviii. 5 Þe thingis þat I raueshede not, þanne I payede out.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 1 Kings vi. 8 Ȝee schul takyn þe arke of þe lord & puttyn in þe wayn & þe goldene vesselis þat ȝee han paied out to it for þe trespas, & ȝee schul puttyn in a litil cofre.
2. transitive. To hand over (money) for a particular purpose; to give out (money) in payment. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > pay money or things [verb (transitive)] > pay up or out
to pay out1438
to pay over1668
to shell down1801
pony1819
tip1829
to fork out, over, or up1831
to stump up1833
to put up1838
stump1841
pungle1851
to ante up1880
cough1894
to peg out1895
brass1898
1438 in B. Marsh Rec. Worshipful Company Carpenters (1914) II. 1 (MED) Payememtes [read payementes] that we iij wardeyns haue paide owte for ye ȝer.
1444 in B. Marsh Rec. Worshipful Company Carpenters (1914) II. 10 (MED) Thes ben ye parsels payde out aȝeyne ye for seyde ȝere of Kyng Herry vj ye xxij d.
1622 G. de Malynes Consuetudo 371 To keepe an orderly Cash Booke of all the moneys receiued and payed out.
a1678 A. Marvell Eyes & Tears in Miscell. Poems (1681) 8 Two Tears, which Sorrow long did weigh Within the Scales of either Eye, And then paid out in equal Poise, Are the true price of all my Joyes.
1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea II. xlvi. 306 No coin or specie..is paid out again, unless in cases of deposites.
1776 A. Smith Inq. Wealth of Nations I. ii. ii. 365 The gold coin which was paid out either by the bank of England, or by the Scotch banks. View more context for this quotation
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin I. xiv. 216 What's the damage, as they say in Kentucky..what's to be paid out for this business?
1878 W. S. Jevons Polit. Econ. vi. §41. 50 He has already paid out a large sum as wages.
1952 ‘J. H. Chase’ Double Shuffle ix. 184 We had paid out good money to get those policies, and we couldn't afford to let them go down the drain.
1993 Atlantic Oct. 32/2 The Federal Republic of Germany has paid out more than $50 billion in the form of reparations to the State of Israel.
3. transitive. To settle (a debt, legal action, etc.) by making a payment; to satisfy (a creditor). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > removal or displacement > remove or displace [verb (transitive)] > get or be rid of > by paying
to pay outa1550
a1550 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Wemyss) cxiv. 1466 He gat gold in sic fusioun That it payit out all his ransoun.
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. I. 65 The money was raised, and the execution was paid out.
1847 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) xv. 147 The night when Brogley the broker was paid out.
1887 D. C. Murray Old Blazer's Hero ix The Man in Possession had been paid out.
1935 W. Faulkner Pylon 291 Do you mean you think she cleared out just to keep from having to pay out some jack to bury him if they get him up?
4.
a. transitive. To let or feed out gradually (a rope, cable, etc.). Also intransitive.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > other nautical operations > [verb (transitive)] > work ropes or cables in specific ways
windc1550
veer1590
veer1604
rousea1625
heave1626
overhaul1626
ease1627
pay1627
reeve1627
unbend1627
to come up1685
overhale1692
to pay away1769
surge1769
render1777
to pay out1793
to round down1793
to set upon ——1793
swig1794
veer1806
snake1815
to side out for a bend1831
rack1841
snub1841
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > longitudinal extent > [verb (transitive)] > lengthen > let out gradually
pay1627
to pay away1769
to pay out1793
1793 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse (ed. 2) §143 We paied out the Hawser by which we were riding; at the same time paying out the hawser of the catch-anchor.
1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xv. 41 ‘Pay out chain,’ shouted the Captain, and we gave it to her.
1846 H. W. Herbert Roman Traitor II. xvi. 176 The smith..paid out the line rapidly although steadily, hand under hand, until the whole length was run out.
1903 J. London Call of Wild vi. 178 Hans paid out the rope, permitting no slack, while Pete kept it clear of coils.
1952 H. E. Bates Love for Lydia iii. i. 182 The car tow-rope had a hook on it and I paid it out over the parapet to Tom.
1976 D. Clark Dread & Water ii. 52 I hadn't enough hands to cling tightly and pay out the rope.
1991 Motor Boat & Yachting Jan. 156/1 At one end of the line was a sea-anchor, so that as the line was paid out it was possible to count how many knots ran out in a given time.
b. intransitive. Of a rope, cable, etc., or something attached to a cable: to run out gradually; to unreel from a capstan, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > ropes or chains other than rigging or cable > [verb (intransitive)] > run out (of rope)
to pay out1840
1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xxiii. 68 We paid out on the chain by which we swung.
a1872 T. B. Read Poet. Wks. (1883) 306 Swift spins the reel; with easy slip The line pays out.
1947 Commerc. Salmon-fisheries Brit. Columbia (Dept. Fisheries, Brit. Columbia) (rev. ed.) 25 The net unwinds from the reel and pays out over the stern of the vessel.
1989 J. Casey Spartina (1990) 59 Dick wasn't sure if he'd got it in until he saw the line pay out strong.
1992 New Scientist 29 Feb. 41/1 A light thread attached to the animal pays out during the course of a night's wanderings, revealing where the animal went and what it did.
5. transitive. To give (a person) what is due or deserved in respect of his or her faults, shortcomings, misbehaviour, etc.; to take revenge on.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > reciprocal treatment or return of an action > revenge > execute (vengeance) [verb (transitive)] > pay (a person) back
to quit or yield (one) his whilec1400
rewardc1400
pay?c1450
requite1534
to pay back1655
to pay off1699
to pay out1849
to get back at (also now less commonly on)1886
society > authority > punishment > retributive punishment > inflict (retributive punishment) [verb (transitive)] > for an offence or on an offender > inflict retributive punishment upon
yieldc1380
putc1390
rewardc1400
pay?c1450
vengea1470
revenge?1526
avenge1633
to pay back1655
to pay off1699
to serve out1809
to pay out1849
1849 W. M. Thackeray Dr. Birch 21 You see if I don't pay you out after school—you sneak, you.
1863 C. C. Clarke Shakespeare-characters viii. 198 They, in return, (as the vulgar phrase has it,) ‘pay him out’.
1940 G. D. H. Cole & M. Cole Counterpoint Murder v. 51 He told Best to do it just in order to annoy him, to pay him out.
1978 J. Thomson Question of Identity xiii. 140 It was his way of paying out Maguire for giving him the push.
1995 in J. Griffin Homer: Iliad, Bk. Nine 79 Diomedes declined to resent it in the press of preparing for battle, but now the opportunity has presented itself for paying Agammenon out.
6. intransitive. To give out money in payment; spec. to make a large one-off payment.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > be advantageous or beneficial [verb (intransitive)] > result in (adequate) advantage
to turn to accounta1632
pay1774
to bear fruit1889
to pay out1909
to pay off1946
1858 J. Brougham Neptune's Defeat i. ii. 13 They'll each pay out and so make both ends meet.
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.
1931 Daily Express 22 Sept. 3/4 ‘We are not paying out against sterling,’ chanted the cashier.
1971 P. Toynbee Working Life iv. 60 You slip your card into the slot and pull down the lever which punches the time on it. ‘Talk about a one-armed bandit’, someone jokes... ‘Trouble is, it's never been known to pay out.’
1990 Which? Apr. 196/1 The policies usually pay out for the cost of:..radiotherapy, chemotherapy, physiotherapy and some other types of specialist treatment.
transitive. To hand over (money) for a particular purpose; to give out (money) in payment.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > pay money or things [verb (transitive)] > pay up or out
to pay out1438
to pay over1668
to shell down1801
pony1819
tip1829
to fork out, over, or up1831
to stump up1833
to put up1838
stump1841
pungle1851
to ante up1880
cough1894
to peg out1895
brass1898
1668 in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. v. 61 Paying over the third part of the profits.
1772 B. Franklin in London Packet 3 June The several sums levied from members of the Church of England should be paid over to the Minister of that Church.
1850 H. Melville White-jacket lxxxii. 399 In case I die on the voyage, the Purser will please pay over my wages to my wife.
1870 J. Pinkerton Guide to Admin. 45 Where an Administrator has money belonging to a distributee, whose residence is known, it is his duty to give notice of his readiness to pay it over.
1903 P. W. Joyce Social Hist. Anc. Ireland II. xix. 4 The dowry..was usually paid over by the bridegroom to the father of the bride.
1989 Holiday Which? Sept. 183/1 If you do see something you want to buy, take the details, but don't pay over any money.
Nautical. Obsolete.
intransitive. Of a ship or a ship's course: to turn to leeward; = to pay off at Phrasal verbs.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > use of wind > avail oneself of a wind [verb (intransitive)] > fall off to leeward
to fall offc1625
to pay away1625
pay1667
to pay off1801
to pay round1825
1825 H. B. Gascoigne Path to Naval Fame 51 By slow degrees her head to Port Pays round.
1834 W. S. W. Ruschenberger Three Years in Pacific 12 Aided by the jib, her head ‘paid round’, and looked down the stream.
1845 Times 22 Jan. 7/1 Our head paid round to southward, the frigate's to the N.E.
1918 A. T. Mahan Influence Sea Power on Hist. xiii. 490 The gap through which Rodney's group penetrated was widened by the ‘Diadème’ on its north side being taken aback and paying round on the other tack.
1.
a. transitive. To settle in full (a debt, an account, etc.); to make up (arrears of payment); to come up with (money) in payment. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > payment of debt > pay debt [verb (transitive)]
quit?c1225
acquita1250
to pay up1434
satisfy1437
discharge1439
defease1480
persolve1548
solve1558
defray1576
affray1584
clear1600
to pay off1607
extinguish1630
to lay downa1640
wipe1668
settle1688
sink1694
retrieve1711
to clear up1726
balance1740
liquidate1755
to clear off1766
square1821
amortize1830
1434 Rolls of Parl. V. 437/2 The residue to be paied up to the Kyng.
1728 L. Theobald Double Falshood ii. iii. 20 My Mother quickly Paid up her Vows to Love, and married You.
1766 W. Gordon Gen. Counting-house 27 If..he should voluntarily pay up the abatement.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. xvii. 71 Arrears were paid up.
1894 ‘M. Twain’ Pudd'nhead Wilson xiv. 188 He had a very clear notion of the size of his indebtedness to that man, and was willing to pay it up in full.
1915 W. S. Maugham Of Human Bondage lxix. 354 We can make him pay up something, I'm sure.
1991 J. Phillips You'll never eat Lunch in this Town Again (1992) 497 I tell him he can stay in the house, the rent's paid up anyway.
b. intransitive. To hand over or come up with money as payment; to settle a debt.Now frequently with implications of unwillingness or compulsion.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > pay [verb (intransitive)] > pay up or out
to shell out1821
dub1823
stump1828
to stump up1836
tip1847
cash1854
to ante up1861
to fund up1888
pony1894
brass1898
cough1920
to pay up1941
to dig down1942
1617 N. Assheton Jrnl. (1848) 62 To Portfield: ther paid up and made merrie.
1850 W. Colton Three Years in Calif. xiii. 196/7 I told them..the only way to get out of the scrape was to pay up.
1857 C. Dickens Little Dorrit ii. xiii. 429 Now, then!..Pay up!
1886 Pall Mall Gaz. 29 Nov. 3/1 It is better for tenants to be compelled to pay up smart than to allow them to heap up a great burden of arrears.
1904 H. O. Sturgis Belchamber iii. 39 Though her contribution was frequently several terms in arrear, she generally paid up in the end.
1941 J. D. Carr Case of Constant Suicides xiv. 190 The insurance companies would have been compelled to pay up.
2003 Econ. Times (Nexis) 17 Sept. Officials claimed that in spite of repeated notices, the defaulters had not paid up.
2. transitive. To make full payment for (something) or to (someone); to hand over money owed to (a person). rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > [verb (intransitive)] > pay in full and discharge
to pay up1647
to pay off1742
1647 Perfect Weekly Acct. No. 26. sig. Cc2 That the Army may be presently paid up, equally to those that have deserted it.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas I. iii. ix. 429 The establishment was paid up and discharged.
1822 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 12 Oct. 1/4 I think you had better go and pay him [sc. a merchant] up.
1988 M. Spark Far Cry from Kensington iii. 31 Wanda's sewing-machine was the most expensive thing in the room: Wanda had just finished paying it up.
Compounds
C1.
a. An item, service, or institution for which a fee is charged.
pay-bed n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > places for the sick or injured > [noun] > bed for sick person > in hospital
hospital bed1823
pay-bed1855
cot1874
bed1881
orthopaedic bed1943
amenity bed1948
1855 Youth's Compan. 27 Sept. 92/1 They are what are termed free and pay beds... The pay beds cost the occupants from $3 to $4 a week.
1883 Times 5 July 12/1 The conference next considered the question, ‘Can the system of Free and pay Beds be successfully applied to existing hospitals?’
1987 NHS Handbk. (ed. 3) i. vii. 34/1 The charge for a pay bed in an acute non-teaching hospital is £124 per day.
2007 P. Bridgen in B. Harris & P. Bridgen Charity & Mutual Aid Europe & N. Amer. since 1800 ix. 223 Overall,..contemporary observers were in no doubt that pay-bed provision in London was insufficient to meet middle-class demand.
pay bridge n.
ΚΠ
1898 Daily Advocate (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) 21 July 3/1 At the same electon shall be submitted the question as to whether the said bridge shall be free for the use of the public or a pay bridge.
1979 Moody's Municipal & Govt. Man. 2 2882/2 Court ruled commission has right to determine where pay bridges shall be put and cited as one reason, the heavy traffic problems of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
2003 Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) (Nexis) 25 June a16 In November..a toll increase as high as 400 percent went into effect for the seven pay bridges operated by the bistate commission.
pay hospital n. now historical and rare
ΚΠ
?1862 W. Whitman in H. M. Christman Walt Whitman's N.Y. (1989) xvi. 131 Though it preserves the character, in the main, of a pay hospital, it has also the character, in proper cases, of a free institution, as far as possible.
a1911 D. G. Phillips Susan Lenox (1917) II. xi. 273 ‘Of course the pay service is better,’ said he... ‘How much would it be at a pay hospital?’ asked Susan.
1990 O. Moscucci Sci. of Woman (1993) iii. 92 Pay hospitals would be useful for those who resided outside London and needed the services of a London consultant.
pay-library n.
ΚΠ
1875 Gen. Soc. Mechanics & Trademen N. Y. : 89th Ann. Rep. 18 All books marked with a star (*)..can only be taken from the Library upon the payment of a nominal sum,..thereby meeting the provisions of the will, ‘that it shall be a pay Library for ever’.
1904 Critic (N.Y.) May 435 The total number of calls for each book during three months in a pay library.
1990 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 18 Mar. vii. 5/1 Trudi Montag's pay library, where the retired butcher..borrows two nurse-and-doctor novels a week.
2011 U. Hegi Children & Fire iii. 17 She..barters it [sc. the embroidery] for groceries from Weiler's store, books from the pay-library, and medical advice from Frau Doktor Rosen.
pay-meal n.
ΚΠ
1889 C. S. Loch Let. in Times 19 Dec. 13/2 By the Board's report the children who partake of ‘pay’ meals are only about 28 per cent of the whole.
1933 Hosp. Management 35 54 Cafeteria service is provided for the noon meal, which takes care of most of the pay meals, although arrangements are made so that people may pay for breakfast or dinner.
1982 Daily Mail 2 July (Lett.) 28/4 Pay-meals... Payment by patients towards the cost of food while in hospital would provide the extra cash within the existing budget.
pay-school n.
ΚΠ
1813 Belfast Monthly Mag. Mar. 194/1 It is only at pay schools that Catechisms would be allowed by Catholic parents.
1845 W. Corston Brief Sketch Life Joseph Lancaster 7 The state of the poor, combined with the feelings of my mind, had now blended the pay school with a free school.
1936 M. Mitchell Gone with the Wind v. lii. 905 There were no free schools. Few had money to send their children to pay schools.
2017 L. O'Higgins Irish Classical Self vi. 149 The commission examined Irish education broadly, with particular attention to the poor, including schools supported only by fees (pay schools).
pay toilet n.
ΚΠ
1914 Amer. City Aug. 94/2 In New York City there are under municipal control practically no pay toilets, while in Birmingham over 90 per cent are pay toilets.
2008 Provision of Public Toilets: 12th Rep. Sess. 2007-08 (House of Commons Communities & Local Govt.) 43 Pay toilets should be restricted to commercial areas and not to ‘tourist destination’ areas such as Parliament Square in London.
pay ward n.
ΚΠ
1836 S. F. Flood in Poor Inq. (Ireland): App. C ii. 69 in Parl. Papers XXX. 223 If there is a vacancy, I admit patients into the pay wards; those cases are certified by a member of the College of Physicians or College of Surgeons.
1850 Southern Med. Rep. (1851) 11 i. 15 We had two or three pretty well-marked cases of yellow fever in the Charity Hospital: one in the pay ward..; another came into our own ward.
1936 Bull. San Juan de Dios Hospital Manila July 215 The figures reveal a total of 1,040 free patients admitted in Ward San Ramon with 237 in the pay wards.
2018 M. N. Kerr Contagion, Isolation, & Biopolitics Victorian London iv. 127 Burdett..was also the primary supporter of introducing pay wards at the main charitable hospitals.
b. With the object of the verb forming the second element.† pay-all n. Obsolete a person who pays for everything; a person who pays a debt, etc., in full.† pay-way adj. and n. Scottish Obsolete (a) adj. designating a valedictory dinner, social gathering, etc., intended to raise funds for a journey; (b) n. such a dinner or social gathering.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > [noun] > one who pays
payerc1390
payor1554
pay-alla1652
a1652 R. Brome Damoiselle iv. i, in Wks. (1873) I. 436 You were not wont To be a Boordsend-King; a pay-all in a Tavern.
1796 S. T. Coleridge Watchman No. 1. 29 The sum of Five Thousand Pounds, to be paid on the first day of April next, at the office of John Bull, Esq. Pay-all and Fight-all to the several High contracting Powers.
pay-rent adj. Agriculture (chiefly English regional) designating a crop, type of livestock, etc., which furnishes a sufficient return to pay the rent; (in extended use) moderately profitable.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > getting or making money > [adjective] > profitable
winning1435
lucrous1511
beneficial1526
lucrative1526
gainful1561
profitful1568
gainsome1579
profiting1590
requiteful1607
pennisome1631
lucriferous1648
opulent1648
emolumental1664
quick1681
well-metalleda1734
pay-rent1742
profitable1758
emolumentary1775
remunerative1813
economical1815
repaying1820
well-paying1832
benefited1837
paying1841
payable1855
money-making1887
economic1899
bankable1927
megadollar1963
money-spinning1973
1742 W. Ellis Mod. Husbandman June iii. 39 A Pay-rent Crop of Turneps.
1764 Museum Rusticum (1765) 3 xxxii. 144 Horse-beans..will..yield a pay-rent crop.
1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Pay-rent, profitable; prolific: applied to both crops and animals. I call yours a proper pay-rent sort o' pigs. A rare pay-rent piece o' beans.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > [adjective] > valedictory
pay-way1823
1823 J. Galt Ringan Gilhaize II. xiii. 131 After partaking of Captain Hepburn's pay-way supper.
1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. Pay-way, valedictory; q[uasi] what is given for bearing one's expenses on the road.
1834 Tait's Edinb. Mag. Aug. 511b The sheriffry is..a leave-taking, or payway, given to the citizens in general.
c. In the senses ‘that pays’, ‘for which one pays’, ‘at which one pays’, etc.† pay-boy n. Obsolete a fee-paying pupil at a school.
pay boarder n. now historical and rare a person who pays to board somewhere, esp. a fee-paying boarder at a school.
ΚΠ
1820 E. B. Seton Let. 19 Oct. in Coll. Writings (2000) II. 670 We take Dutch or any trusting to God and educate them with as much care and daily regularity as our pay Boarder so as to extend their usefulness.
1838 Rep. Manch. School Deaf & Dumb 8 (table) Mary Coupe... A pay boarder.
1897 Rep. Comm. Welsh Educ. Howell schools... Amongst the pay boarders,..numbering in all thirty, there were six Nonconformists.
1915 F. C. Howe Socialized Germany xiii. 177 The Herbergen..make provision for permanent pay boarders. They are really cheap working men's hotels.
1990 W. G. Evans Educ. & Female Emancipation iii. 70 The increasing number of applications from orphans and pay boarders attested to the growing reputation of the school.
ΚΠ
1840 Peter Parley's Ann. 183 The young gentlemen of the Free School, and the pay-boys at the Rector's.
1856 P. Thompson Hist. & Antiq. Boston vi. 291 The school is kept in a house situated in Wormgate. The number of scholars is 30 on the foundation. The master is allowed to take ‘pay-boys’.
pay cable n. Broadcasting (originally U.S.) a cable television service available on a subscription basis.
ΚΠ
1971 N.Y. Times 30 Mar. 71/3 Pay cable TV might deprive the poorer of programs they now see for nothing.
1975 Economist (Nexis) 27 Sept. 76 The primary attraction offered by pay cable is fairly new movies.
2011 E. R. Meehan in J. Kapur & J. B. Wagner Neoliberalism & Global Cinema ii. 48 CBS was given operations in television production, networks, O&Os, pay cable channels, and two basic channels as well as the television library.
pay channel n. Broadcasting a television channel for which viewers pay a subscription fee (frequently in contrast to those channels provided at no extra cost on payment of a basic subscription fee to a cable or satellite television service).
ΚΠ
1958 New 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.
1977 Business Week (Nexis) 21 Nov. 154 Telecinema..lets subscribers choose programs at different prices on four pay channels.
2004 B. Pulley Billion Dollar BET ii. 29 Gerald Levin, the head of a fledgling pay channel known as Home Box Office (HBO), approached him.
pay-gate n. a toll gate; (in later use) any gate at which an entrance fee is collected.
ΚΠ
1787 Act 27 George III c. 59 §8 in Statutes at Large, Ireland (1791) XIV. 394 That it shall be lawful for the said trustees..to erect a pay-gate or pay-gates on the side of the road within their division across any lane or way leading out of the said road.
1832 R. S. Surtees in New Sporting Mag. Jan. 172/2 I..struck off towards the race course, but..when a pay-gate arrested my progress, I found myself riding to Bury.
1947 Billboard 2 Aug. 80/2 Many parks thruout the nation have experimented with a pay gate and a free gate.
2001 R. McInerny Sub Rosa vi. 136 Nell's theory was that he had heaved it into his trunk and gone through the pay gate without mentioning it.
pay party n. a private party at which guests pay an entrance fee.
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1889 J. Whitehead Steward's Handbk. ii. 104/1 Four times out of five where it is a pay party there will be fewer people in attendance than were expected.
1937 N. N. Puckett in G. P. Murdock Stud. in Sci. of Society 485 Cake walks.., being ‘pay parties’, required a doorkeeper possessing a sense of both financial and social discrimination.
2014 J. Vales ESP & ESD Blue 40 The males were identified..convicted of the murder. Their reason was they were trying to get some money to attend a pay party.
pay telephone n. = payphone n.
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society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > telephone equipment > [noun] > telephone > types of
microtelephone1879
field telephone1880
telephone extension1881
pay telephone1886
home telephone1893
substation1897
extension1906
railophone1911
dial phone1917
payphone1919
dial telephone1921
autophone1922
mobile telephone1930
viewphone1932
videophone1944
mobile phone1945
car phone1946
video telephone1947
speaker-phone1955
picture telephone1956
princess phone1959
touchtone telephone1961
touch-tone1962
touchtone phone1963
picture phone1964
Trimphone1965
princess telephone1966
vision-telephone1966
visiophone1971
princess1973
warbler1973
landline1977
cardphone1978
feature phone1979
smartphone1980
mobile1982
cell phone1983
Vodafone1984
cellular1985
mobile device1989
brick1990
satphone1991
celly1992
burner phone1996
keitai1998
burner2002
1886 Electr. Rev. 13 Feb. 6/1 We intend as soon as possible, to establish all over the city a number of ‘pay telephone’ stations.
1917 M. Preston Bab iii. 204 Father, then, was imured [sic] in the safety of his Club, and could not be reached except by pay telephone.
1971 A. Hunter Gently at Gallop viii. 89 There was a pay-telephone for customers. He fed in a coin and dialled the police-station.
2003 Houston Chron. (Nexis) 15 Oct. 33 Durst didn't have his cellular telephone with him, so Durst next ran to a pay telephone a half block away.
pay television n. = pay TV n.
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society > communication > broadcasting > television > [noun] > types of television system
radiovision1924
colour television1927
phonovision1927
Scophony1932
stratovision1945
subscription television1945
Phonevision1947
pay television1950
subscription TV1950
telemeter1951
Web TV1952
pay TV1954
toll television1956
digital television1957
slot television1958
digital TV1959
satellite television1961
satellite TV1961
cable television1965
satellite1982
1950 N.Y. Herald Tribune 10 Feb. 15/2 Pay Television Approved... The Communications Commission today decided to let Zenith Radio Corporation go ahead with an experiment in ‘pay-as-you-see’ television in the Chicago area.
1962 Rep. Comm. Broadcasting 1960 262 in Parl. Papers 1961–2 (Cmnd. 1753) X. 259 ‘Subscription television’ (or ‘toll’ or ‘pay’ television, as it is variously called) involves a third method of paying.
2012 R. Hoye et al. Sport Managem. (ed. 3) iv. 62 In order to view live EPL action fans must either go to the game or subscribe to pay television.
pay-tone n. a tone heard on the line of a payphone when payment is due.
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society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > [noun] > signals or tones
call signal1853
telephone call1878
tone1878
ring-off1885
busy tone1902
buzz1913
dialling tone1917
dial tone1920
ringtone1921
ringing tone1922
pip1929
pip-pip-pip1936
logatom1937
pay-tone1958
ringtone1984
1958 New Scientist 4 Dec. 1424/3 The control equipment is located at the exchange and connects a distinctive tone—the ‘pay-tone’—when the called subscriber answers.
1991 S. Gallagher Chimera (BNC) 180 As he started to speak he heard the line go momentarily dead and then break into a callbox paytone.
2001 U. D. Black Internet Telephony ii. 28 Pay tone: Indicates the payphone user is to deposit additional coins to continue the service.
C2. With adverbial complement -as-you- (also -per-).
pay-as-you-earn n. and adj. (a) n. a system by which an employer deducts income tax from an employee's wages or salary before paying them to the employee and sends the deduction to the Inland Revenue; abbreviated P.A.Y.E.; (b) adj. of or relating to such a system.
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society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > tax > types of tax > [phrase] > income tax
pay-as-you-earn1943
PAYE1944
1943 Times 4 Mar. 3/4 The Budget which has been introduced in the Canadian House of Commons..has as its main feature the proposal to place the income-tax system in Canada on a ‘pay as you earn’ basis.
1972 Accountant 6 Apr. 445/2 Pay-as-you-earn rates for 1972 are so much higher than last year that they could raise the tax take by the equivalent of some £1,500 million.
1992 M. Howard Public Finance in Small Open Econ. xii. 117 The distributional impact of stabilization policy may have been more severe in Jamaica, where the pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) was regressive on low incomes.
pay-as-you-enter adj. designating a bus, tram, etc., in which passengers pay their fares on entering the vehicle; designating a public transport service which uses this system of fare payment.
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society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > [adjective] > system of fares
pay-as-you-enter1908
1908 Sci. Amer. 1 Feb. 76/2 (heading) A new type of fare register to be used on the New York pay-as-you-enter cars.
1924 Commerc. Motor 25 Nov. 449/1 (caption) One of the most successful of the pay-as-you-enter-type buses.
1985 Yorks. Post 23 May 28/1 The men..were responsible for moving the fare boxes from pay-as-you-enter buses for emptying.
pay-as-you-go n. and adj. (a) n. a system or the practice of paying costs or charges as they arise; (b) adj. designating an economic policy, customer contract, etc., based on such a practice.
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society > trade and finance > payment > [adjective] > specific systems of payment
stalled1553
pay-as-you-go1840
instalment1876
pay-as-you-use1929
1840 Farmers' Cabinet 15 May 319/1 Pay as you go..is the truest economy.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. II. lxvi. 507 ‘Pay as You Go’ Convention!
a1974 R. Crossman Diaries (1977) III. 176 We must therefore really accept pay-as-you-go.
1991 Fiscal Stud. Aug. 58 Given the ‘pay-as-you-go’ nature of National Insurance, retirement pensioners at that time would not have paid this higher rate in full.
pay-as-you-look adj. Broadcasting = pay-per-view n. and adj.
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society > communication > broadcasting > television > [adjective] > types of system
pay-as-you-see1950
pay-as-you-look1953
pay-as-you-view1953
public access1970
pay-per-view1978
PPV1982
1953 Wall St. Jrnl. 27 Nov. 18/4 Another pay-as-you-look television set-up makes its debut here.
1959 Times 4 June 6/4 Another possible proposition was ‘Pay as you look’ television—or P.T.V.
pay-as-you-see adj. Broadcasting = pay-per-view n. and adj.
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society > communication > broadcasting > television > [adjective] > types of system
pay-as-you-see1950
pay-as-you-look1953
pay-as-you-view1953
public access1970
pay-per-view1978
PPV1982
1950 C. A. Siepmann Radio, Television & Society xiii. 325 Another alternative system of bringing televised programs to the viewer is based on the ‘pay as you see’ principle. Under this system, viewers would order programs of their choice by telephone.
1954 Sporting Times 6 Oct. 16 (heading) FCC urged to sanction pay-as-you-see TV.
1962 Variety 22 Aug. 3 It's perhaps significant that all, or just about all, film distributors are leasing pictures to the Paramount-owned International Telemeter pay-as-you-see video in Etobicoke, Toronto suburb.
pay-as-you-use adj. designating a rental system whereby a charge is made only for periods during which the rented article is in use.
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society > trade and finance > payment > [adjective] > specific systems of payment
stalled1553
pay-as-you-go1840
instalment1876
pay-as-you-use1929
1929 Radio Times 8 Nov. 453/1 Place your order..immediately, ‘Pay as you use’ terms can be arranged.
1961 Engineering 1 Sept. 257/1 Pay-as-you-use techniques covering the leasing of vehicles, machinery and equipment of all kinds are to be introduced into Britain.
1990 W. G. Bolter et al. Telecommunications Policy for 1990s & Beyond viii. 355 Datalink: a pay-as-you-use shared digital service.
pay-as-you-view n. and adj. Broadcasting = pay-per-view n. and adj.
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society > communication > broadcasting > television > [adjective] > types of system
pay-as-you-see1950
pay-as-you-look1953
pay-as-you-view1953
public access1970
pay-per-view1978
PPV1982
1953 Times 12 Nov. 2/5 Mrs White..asked what investigation had been made into systems of subscription or ‘Pay as you view’ television.
1963 Ann. Reg. 1962 443 Other recommendations of the [Pilkington] Committee were that pay-as-you-view television..should be rejected.
1993 Guardian 2 Sept. i. 2/7 The move marks a crucial stage in the development of satellite TV and will test whether pay-as-you-view is a likely and sustainable strategy for the future of television in Britain.
pay-per-view n. and adj. Broadcasting (originally 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.
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society > communication > broadcasting > television > [adjective] > types of system
pay-as-you-see1950
pay-as-you-look1953
pay-as-you-view1953
public access1970
pay-per-view1978
PPV1982
1978 TVC May 79 (advt.) Introducing Tocom III... With add-on capabilities from Pay-Per-View TV to all the ‘Blue Sky’ services.
1978 Business Week (Nexis) 17 July 32 Important research data indicating the income potential of pay-per-view cable television.
1978 Variety 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.
1995 Economist 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.
2000 Independent (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 £328m due to begin next August has collapsed.
C3. With on and noun, forming adjectives, as pay-on-acceptance, pay-on-entry, etc.: designating a system, facility, etc., whereby payment is made when the specified service, action, or condition has been performed or fulfilled.
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1882 Rag 30 Sept. 7/2 A pay-on-the-nod, An always-in-quod..young man.]
1899 J. London Let. 29 July (1966) 46 And with these pay-on-acceptance fellows, did you ever get your check at the same time you were notified of acceptance?
1960 Guardian 11 Apr. 8/3 London's new..bus which..has the pay-on-entry system.
1961 Daily Tel. 23 May 17/6 (heading) ‘Pay-on-reply’ telephoning.
1994 Mod. Maturity July 52/1 Assets that name a beneficiary—such as retirement accounts, insurance policies, even simple pay-on-death bank accounts—don't go through probate.
C4. With -and- and verb.
pay-and-display adj. and n. British (a) adj. 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 (b) n. car parking that uses this system.
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1970 Traffic 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.
1989 A. Aird 1990 Good Pub Guide 350/2 Only parking is in pay and display car park.
2016 M. C. J. Bliemer et al. Handbk. Transport & Urban Planning Developed World ix. 152 Pay and display requires the customer to purchase a ticket from a vending machine..and then display the ticket on the dashboard or window of the vehicle as proof of payment.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
payv.2
/peɪ/, U.S. /peɪ/ Chiefly Nautical.† 2. transitive. To apply (pitch, tar, resin, etc.) to (the seams of) a ship, so as to make watertight. Obsolete. rare.
1. transitive. To smear or cover (a wooden surface or join, esp. the seams of a ship) with pitch, tar, or other substance, so as to make watertight or resistant to damage. Also (occasionally) with over.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with coating or covering materials > work with coating or covering materials [verb (transitive)] > tar
pitcheOE
tarc1300
pay1610
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > shipbuilding and repairing > build a ship [verb (transitive)] > fit out or equip > make watertight > cover seams with canvas and or or pitch
pay1610
parcel1625
1610 S. Jourdain Discov. of Barmudas 20 Some wax we found cast vp by the Sea..serued the turne to pay the seames of the pinnis Sir George Sommers built, for which hee had neither pitch nor tarre.
1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. ii. 13 Okum..being well payed ouer with hot pitch, doth make her more tight.
a1665 K. Digby Jrnl. Voy. to Mediterranean (1868) 61 The inconueniencie of breeming aloft to pay the shippe ouer with pitch.
1720 D. Defoe Life Capt. Singleton 31 Hemp, Pitch and Tar, to Caulk and Pay her Seams.
1785 C. G. Booth Islay Notebook (1984) 33 The wood of the Bridge to be paid with Tar and top Covered first with wrought Clay over the Tar.
1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 48 The outside [of the granary is]..properly payed over with pitch or tar-varnish.
1831 W. Irving Life C. Columbus (abr. ed.) 307 Drawing his canoe on shore..he then payed it with a coat of tar.
1853 H. Douglas Ess. Mil. Bridges (ed. 3) iii. 180 Above these were laid stalks of the cotton-plant and loose grass; the whole being payed over with clay.
1906 C. M. Doughty Dawn in Brit. II. vii. 134 They pay, with pitch, That Ithobal stills, to make her staunch, the ship.
1985 Verbatim Summer 9/2 Oakum is first driven into the seam with a caulking iron... The seam is then sealed by ‘paying’ it—pouring hot pitch over the oakum from a funnel.
ΚΠ
1894 C. N. Robinson Brit. Fleet 231 Broad-headed nails hammered in close together, on which was paid a compost of tallow and resin.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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