verbverb

payer

pay

Donner de l'argent en échange d'un bien ou d'un service.

Definition & meaning

To payer is to give money or something of value to someone in exchange for goods, services, or to settle a debt.

To settle a financial obligation: Giving money to a seller to purchase an item or to a service provider to compensate for their work.
To suffer the consequences: In a figurative sense, it means to undergo the negative results of one's own actions (e.g., "to pay for one's mistakes").
To reward or yield results: Used when an investment or a laborious effort finally produces a positive outcome (e.g., "patience pays").

Grammar & Word origin

Grammar:

It is a transitive verb (or sometimes intransitive).
It belongs to the first group of French verbs (ending in -er).
Orthography note: In the present indicative, the 'y' changes to an 'i' for most persons (e.g., je paie, nous payons). Both spellings (with 'y' or 'i') are generally accepted in modern French for these conjugations.

Word origin: The word originates from the Old French paier, which comes from the Latin pacare, meaning "to pacify" or "to appease." The sense evolved from "pacifying a creditor" by giving them what was owed to simply "paying."