to pay
Preserved but no longer current.
To smear over. To pay the bottom of a ship or boat; to smear it over with pitch: The devil to pay, and no pitch hot or ready. SEA TERM.--Also to beat: as, I will pay you as Paul paid the Ephesians, over the face and eyes, and all your d---d jaws. To pay away; to fight manfully, also to eat voraciously. To pay through the nose: to pay an extravagant price.
Era: ca. 1811 (Georgian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 edition, public domain; Project Gutenberg #5402, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to pay” mean?
To smear over. To pay the bottom of a ship or boat; to smear it over with pitch: The devil to pay, and no pitch hot or ready. SEA TERM.--Also to beat: as, I will pay you as Paul paid the Ephesians, over the face and eyes, and all your d---d jaws. To pay away; to fight manfully, also to eat voraciously. To pay through the nose: to pay an extravagant price.
Is “to pay” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.