Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - wage

 I. noun  Etymology: Middle English, pledge, recompense, from Anglo-French ~, gage, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German wetti pledge — more at wed  Date: 14th century  1.  a. a payment usually of money for labor or services usually according to contract and on an hourly, daily, or piecework basis — often used in plural  b. plural the share of the national product attributable to labor as a factor in production  2. recompense, reward — usually used in plural butsingular or plural in construction the ~s of sin is death — Romans 6:23 (Revised Standard Version)  • ~less adjective  II. verb  (~d; waging)  Etymology: Middle English, to offer surety, put up as a stake, hire, from Anglo-French *~r, gager, from ~  Date: 14th century  transitive verb to engage in or carry on ~ war ~ a campaign  intransitive verb to be in process of occurring the riot ~d for several hours — American Guide Series: Maryland