Wage, 1) trans. a) to stake, to bet: “the king hath --d with him six Barbary horses,” Hml. V, 2, 154 (Qq wagered). “my life I never held but as a pawn to w. against thine enemies,” Lr. I, 1, 158. “I will w. against your gold, gold to it,” Cymb. I, 4, 144.
b) to hazard, to attempt, to venture on, to encounter: “against whose fury . . . the aweless lion could not w. the fight,” John I, 266. “too weak to w. an instant trial with the king,” H4A IV, 4, 20. “neglecting an attempt of ease and gain, to wake and w. a danger profitless,” Oth. I, 3, 30. “dared him . . . to w. this battle at Pharsalia,” Ant. III, 7, 32. Hence == to undertake, to carry on: “he hath --d new wars 'gainst Pompey,” Ant. III, 4, 3.
c) to pay wages to, to remunerate: “he --d me with his countenance, as if I had been mercenary,” Cor. V, 6, 40.
2) intr. a) to be opposed in combat, to contend, to strive: “choose to w. against the enmity o'the air,” Lr. II, 4, 212.
b) to be opposed as a stake, to be equal: “his taints and honours --d equal with him,” Ant. V, 1, 31. “the commodity --s not with the danger,” Per. IV, 2, 34.
Shakespeare Lexicon. Alexander Schmidt. Berlin. Georg Reimer. 1902.
This text was converted to electronic form by professional data entry and has been proofread to a high level of accuracy.
hide
Dictionary Entry Lookup
Use this tool to search for dictionary entries in all lexica.
