salary
- 01 A2 Elementary
n.a fixed amount of money that you earn each month or year for your work.
n.a fixed periodic payment, typically paid monthly or annually, made by an employer to an employee for professional or office work.
Simple“She was happy to accept the job because the annual salary was very high.”
In context“The company offered a competitive starting salary along with a comprehensive benefits package to attract top-tier graduates.”
UsageUsually a countable noun; often used with the verbs 'earn', 'pay', or 'negotiate'.
PitfallHe earns a high wage as a lawyer. He earns a high salary as a lawyer.Use 'salary' for professional or office jobs paid monthly/yearly; use 'wage' for manual or service jobs paid by the hour.
Synonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
v.to pay someone a fixed monthly or yearly amount instead of paying them by the hour.
v.to compensate an employee via a fixed periodic payment rather than hourly wages.
Simple“The manager decided to salary the new staff members instead of paying them hourly.”
In context“The firm chose to salary its consultants to ensure a predictable overhead, moving away from the previous commission-based structure.”
UsageOften used in the passive voice or as a past participle adjective (e.g., 'a salaried employee').
Synonyms
salary vs wage — Salary is a fixed annual amount paid monthly, whereas a wage is calculated by the hours worked or tasks completed.
Middle English salarie was carried across by the Normans from Old French salaire, itself a borrowing of Latin salārium. The Latin word is the exact neuter of the adalt adjective salārius ("to do with salt"), built from sal ("salt"). The form already had the sense "wages"; none of the ancient authors bothered to mention why.
Because salārium argentum is not recorded, scholarly opinion has preferred a clipped form salārium for the payroll: either "salt-money" paid to Roman troops, or "money earmarked for salt". No period document confirms soldiers being handed blocks of salt; no ledger survives listing salt among wages. The leap from condiment to coin happened before documentary habit began, and English simply took the Normans' word for it.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.