from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Wage \Wage\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Waged}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Waging}.] [OE. wagen, OF. wagier, gagier, to pledge,
promise, F. gager to wager, lay, bet, fr. LL. wadium a
pledge; of Teutonic origin; cf. Goth. wadi a pledge,
gawadj[=o]n to pledge, akin to E. wed, G. wette a wager. See
{Wed}, and cf. {Gage}.]
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1. To pledge; to hazard on the event of a contest; to stake;
to bet, to lay; to wager; as, to wage a dollar. --Hakluyt.
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My life I never but as a pawn
To wage against thy enemies. --Shak.
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2. To expose one's self to, as a risk; to incur, as a danger;
to venture; to hazard. "Too weak to wage an instant trial
with the king." --Shak.
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To wake and wage a danger profitless. --Shak.
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3. To engage in, as a contest, as if by previous gage or
pledge; to carry on, as a war.
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[He pondered] which of all his sons was fit
To reign and wage immortal war with wit. --Dryden.
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The two are waging war, and the one triumphs by the
destruction of the other. --I. Taylor.
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4. To adventure, or lay out, for hire or reward; to hire out.
[Obs.] "Thou . . . must wage thy works for wealth."
--Spenser.
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5. To put upon wages; to hire; to employ; to pay wages to.
[Obs.]
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Abundance of treasure which he had in store,
wherewith he might wage soldiers. --Holinshed.
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I would have them waged for their labor. --Latimer.
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6. (O. Eng. Law) To give security for the performance of.
--Burrill.
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{To wage battle} (O. Eng. Law), to give gage, or security,
for joining in the duellum, or combat. See {Wager of
battel}, under {Wager}, n. --Burrill.
{To wage one's law} (Law), to give security to make one's
law. See {Wager of law}, under {Wager}, n.
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