Search the Dictionary

a hired person for services; price paid for labor; recompense; hire. See Wage, n., 2. The wages of sin is death. Rom. vi. 23. Wages fund (Polit. Econ.), the aggregate capital existing at any time in any country, which theoretically is unconditionally destined to be paid out in wages. It was formerly held, by Mill and o…

nected with, or engaged in, tillage; as, the agricultural class; agricultural implements, wages, etc. -- Ag`ri*cul"tur*al*ly, adv. Agricultural ant (Zoöl.), a species of ant which gathers and stores seeds of grasses, for food. The remarkable species (Myrmica barbata) found in Texas clears circular areas and carefully…

some part has been paid; arrearage; -- commonly used in the plural, as, arrears of rent, wages, or taxes. Locke. For much I dread due payment by the Greeks Of yesterday's arrear. Cowper. I have a large arrear of letters to write. J. D. Forbes. In arrear or In arrears, behind; backward; behindhand; in debt.…

ducting, or reducing; to abate; to beat down; to lower. He must either bate the laborer's wages, or not employ or not pay him. Locke.

A slave; one who is bound to service without wages. If thy brother . . . be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bond servant: but as an hired servant. Lev. xxv. 39, 40.

The condition of a bond servant; sevice without wages; slavery. Their children . . . upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bond service. 1 Kings ix. 21.

A female slave, or one bound to service without wages, as distinguished from a hired servant.

A man slave, or one bound to service without wages. "To enfranchise bondmen." Macaulay.

of Job, in conduct and diction. Macaulay. Conduct money (Naut.), a portion of a seaman's wages retained till the end of his engagement, and paid over only if his conduct has been satisfactory.

Of or from, or pertaining to, a convent. "Conventical wages." Sterne. Conventical prior. See Prior.

That which is given beyond what is actually due, as a garland of flowers in addition to wages; surplus; something added or superfluous. [Obs.] Now come, my Ariel; bring a corollary, Rather than want a spirit. Shak.

ed by the recurrence of something peculiar; as, the cucle of the seasons, or of the year. Wages . . . bear a full proportion . . . to the medium of provision during the last bad cycle of twenty years. Burke.

Hard to suit; difficult to please. [Obs.] My wages ben full strait, and eke full small; My lord to me is hard and dangerous. Chaucer.

exactly equal, so that neither wins. -- Dead horse, an expression applied to a debt for wages paid in advance. [Law] -- Dead language, a language which is no longer spoken or in common use by a people, and is known only in writings, as the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. -- Dead letter. (a) A letter which, after lying for…

ictly hath our Lord imposed Labor, as to debar us when we need Refreshment. Milton. Their wages were so low as to debar them, not only from the comforts but from the common decencies of civilized life. Buckle.

hing due, either good or evil); to merit; to be entitled to; as, the laborer deserves his wages; a work of value deserves praise. God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth. Job xi. 6. John Gay deserved to be a favorite. Thackeray. Encouragement is not held out to things that deserve reprehension. Burke.…

To keep back or from; to withhold. Detain not the wages of the hireling. Jer. Taylor.

off a part from; to shorten; to deduct from; to subject to a deduction; as, to dock one's wages.

To acquire by labor, service, or performance; to deserve and receive as compensation or wages; as, to earn a good living; to earn honors or laurels. I earn that [what] I eat. Shak. The bread I have earned by the hazard of my life or the sweat of my brow. Burke. Earned run (Baseball), a run which is made without the ass…

That which is earned; wages gained by work or services; money earned; -- used commonly in the plural. As to the common people, their stock is in their persons and in their earnings. Burke.