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Pay   /peɪ/   Listen
verb
Pay  v. t.  (past & past part. paid; pres. part. paying)  (Naut.) To cover, as bottom of a vessel, a seam, a spar, etc., with tar or pitch, or waterproof composition of tallow, resin, etc.; to smear.



Pay  v. t.  (past & past part. paid; pres. part. paying)  
1.
To satisfy, or content; specifically, to satisfy (another person) for service rendered, property delivered, etc.; to discharge one's obligation to; to make due return to; to compensate; to remunerate; to recompense; to requite; as, to pay workmen or servants. "May no penny ale them pay (i. e., satisfy)." "(She) pays me with disdain."
2.
Hence, figuratively: To compensate justly; to requite according to merit; to reward; to punish; to retort or retaliate upon. "For which, or pay me quickly, or I'll pay you."
3.
To discharge, as a debt, demand, or obligation, by giving or doing what is due or required; to deliver the amount or value of to the person to whom it is owing; to discharge a debt by delivering (money owed). "Pay me that thou owest." "Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all." "If they pay this tax, they starve."
4.
To discharge or fulfill, as a duy; to perform or render duty, as that which has been promised. "This day have I paid my vows."
5.
To give or offer, without an implied obligation; as, to pay attention; to pay a visit. "Not paying me a welcome."
To pay off.
(a)
To make compensation to and discharge; as, to pay off the crew of a ship.
(b)
To allow (a thread, cord, etc.) to run off; to unwind.
(c)
to bribe.
To pay one's duty, to render homage, as to a sovereign or other superior.
To pay out (Naut.), to pass out; hence, to slacken; to allow to run out; as, to pay out more cable. See under Cable.
To pay the piper, to bear the cost, expense, or trouble. (Colloq.)



Pay  v. i.  (past & past part. paid; pres. part. paying)  
1.
To give a recompense; to make payment, requital, or satisfaction; to discharge a debt. "The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again."
2.
Hence, to make or secure suitable return for expense or trouble; to be remunerative or profitable; to be worth the effort or pains required; as, it will pay to ride; it will pay to wait; politeness always pays.
To pay for.
(a)
To make amends for; to atone for; as, men often pay for their mistakes with loss of property or reputation, sometimes with life.
(b)
To give an equivalent for; to bear the expense of; to be mulcted on account of. "'T was I paid for your sleeps; I watched your wakings."
To pay off.
(a)
(Naut.) To fall to leeward, as the head of a vessel under sail.
(b)
to repay (a debt).
To pay on. To beat with vigor; to redouble blows. (Colloq.)
To pay round (Naut.) To turn the ship's head.



noun
Pay  n.  
1.
Satisfaction; content.
2.
An equivalent or return for money due, goods purchased, or services performed; salary or wages for work or service; compensation; recompense; payment; hire; as, the pay of a clerk; the pay of a soldier. "Where only merit constant pay receives." "There is neither pay nor plunder to be got."
Full pay, the whole amount of wages or salary; maximum pay; especially, the highest pay or allowance to civil or military officers of a certain rank, without deductions.
Half pay. See under Half.
Pay day, the day of settlement of accounts.
Pay dirt (Mining), earth which yields a profit to the miner. (Western U.S.)
Pay office, a place where payment is made.
Pay roll,
(a)
a roll or list of persons entitled to payment, with the amounts due; now usually one word, payroll.
(b)
the total sum of money which is paid to all employees on payday.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Pay" Quotes from Famous Books



... the other never dissimulated, and hated everything roundabout. My first wife never asked for anything, but she ran up debts right and left; my second always asked for more when she needed it, which was seldom. She never bought anything without feeling bound to pay for it on the spot. But both were kind, gentle, and ...
— The Happy Days of the Empress Marie Louise • Imbert De Saint-Amand

... of my canoe, and the purchase of provisions to recruit my supplies, consumed the morning, until twelve o'clock, when I embarked, and called at the fort to pay my respects to Dr. Wheaton. I found the dinner-table set. He insisted on my stopping with Mr. H. to dinner, which, being an old friend and as one of my men had absconded, and I was, therefore, delayed, I assented to. The ...
— Personal Memoirs Of A Residence Of Thirty Years With The Indian Tribes On The American Frontiers • Henry Rowe Schoolcraft

... good evidence of the age of such child; and the clerk of such county shall receive from said person twelve cents for every child so registered; and if any person shall neglect to deliver such certificate to the said clerk within said nine months, such person shall forfeit and pay for every such offence, five dollars, and the further sum of one dollar for every month such person shall neglect to deliver the same, to be sued for and recovered by any person who will sue for the same, the one half to the use of such prosecutor, ...
— History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1880. Vol. 2 (of 2) - Negroes as Slaves, as Soldiers, and as Citizens • George Washington Williams

... discontented, and naturally so. In common fairness, the often wretched place that the men have to occupy ought to be put in decent order to receive the new crew. Again, they should be distinctly made to understand, when signing articles, what their food will be, and what their pay and allowances will come to. It is to be feared that bad feeding is the cause of much trouble in these days. From first coming on board discipline should be enforced; many officers, both young and old, are greatly remiss in enforcing this, with the consequence that ...
— Scientific American Supplement, No. 832, December 12, 1891 • Various

... Pay for it. There's the money. Best Paso, do you hear?—cool and sparkling. Now, voya! Bon jour, my bold rider of buffalo bulls I still abed, ...
— The Scalp Hunters • Mayne Reid


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