Wages is a plural noun meaning the compensation or remuneration paid to an employee for work performed, typically on an hourly, daily, or weekly basis. It can also refer to the amount earned in a particular period and, in broader usage, to wage-related expenses or the act of paying wages. The term appears in contexts from payroll to discussions of labor economics.
"The factory workers received their wages every Friday."
"She negotiated higher wages after the annual review."
"During the strike, the company offered overtime as part of wage negotiations."
"Minimize wage gaps by updating salary brackets in the HR system."
Wages comes from the Old French word gage, which meant a pledge or security and by extension, a daily wage or payment. The English development began in the Middle Ages, with the term appearing in legal and economic contexts to denote compensation for labor. Early forms connected wage to the idea of a portion or share of a worker’s labor, and over time it broadened to refer specifically to monetary remuneration. The sense of periodic payment tied to work and time (hourly or weekly) solidified as industrial labor systems expanded in the 16th to 18th centuries. By the 19th century, ‘wage’ was firmly established as a common noun in labor economics and payroll, with ‘wages’ as its plural form used when referring to payments to workers collectively or repeatedly.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Wages" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Wages"
-ges sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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You pronounce it as /ˈweɪdʒɪz/. The primary stress falls on the first syllable: WEY-jiz. The first syllable uses the long A as in 'wait,' followed by a soft /dʒ/ as in 'judge,' then an unstressed final /ɪz/ like the 'is' in 'his.' For clarity, open jaw a bit for the diphthong and end with a light z sound. See audio reference in Pronounce or Cambridge for phoneme verification.
Common errors: (1) Mispronouncing the /dʒ/ as /j/ like 'weige' instead of 'weij.' (2) Slurring the vowel to /eɪ/ without the brief /ɪ/ in the second syllable, yielding WEY-jz. (3) Dropping the final /z/ making it sound like 'weɪdʒɪ' or 'weɪdʒ.' Correction: emphasize /dʒ/ clearly between the diphthong and the final voiced sibilant, and lightly voice the final /z/ to avoid devoicing. Use minimal pairs to practice: wages vs wayes (archaic) vs waged.
In US/UK/AU, the main difference is the rhoticity and vowel quality of the diphthong. All share /ˈweɪdʒɪz/ but some US speakers may produce a slightly tenser /eɪ/ vowel, UK speakers may have crisper /dʒ/ release, and Australian speakers might show a slightly flatter /æ/ influence in rapid speech, though most still use /weɪdʒɪz/. The final z remains voiced across accents.
The difficulty lies in coordinating a strong diphthong /weɪ/ with the /dʒ/ blend and the final voiced /z/. The sequence /weɪdʒ/ requires a precise tongue blade position for the /dʒ/ immediately after the gliding vowel, with minimal pause before the /ɪz/. Beginners often hesitate on the /dʒ/ and may devoice the final consonant. Practice by isolating the /weɪ/ and /dʒ/ segments, then blend with a brief /z/.
A unique point is the contrast between the strong affricate /dʒ/ and the trailing /z/. Unlike 'stage' where /dʒ/ ends with a clear stop, 'wages' maintains a continuous affricate release into the sonorant /z/. This creates a smooth, almost single-beat sequence WEI-dʒ-iz, with the final z colored by voice quality and sibilance. IPA reference: /ˈweɪdʒɪz/.
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