[f. WAGER sb.2]
† 1. intr. To contend for a prize. Obs.
1574. trans. Marlorat’s Apoc., 42. None shall bee crowned sauing he that wagereth lawfully.
2. trans. To stake or hazard (something of value) on the issue of an uncertain event or on some question to be decided, to bet.
1611. Shaks., Cymb., V. v. 182. Whereat, I … wager’d with him Peeces of Gold, ’gainst this, which then he wore Vpon his honour’d finger, to attaine In suite the place of ’s bed, and winne this Ring By hers, and mine Adultery.
a. 1626. Bacon, Apophth., Wks. 1879, I. 326. He would wager twenty shillings with him upon that.
1674. Govt. Tongue, xi. 201. He that will lay those [his truth and reputation] to stake upon every flying story, may as well wager his estate which way the wind will sit next morning.
1800. Wordsw., Brothers, 283. I’d wager house and field That, if he is alive, he has it yet.
1828. Scott, F. M. Perth, xvii. I will wager a hundred merks with you, that [etc.].
1849. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., vi. II. 137. Everything dear to nations was wagered on both sides.
1887. Gunter, Mr. Barnes, xii. 85. The stake he plays for is not generally wagered on the tables of the Casino.
b. fig. To offer (one’s head, etc.) as a pledge, guarantee, or forfeit.
1635. Shirley, Coronation, I. (1640), B 4 b. I beg the honor, for Eubulus cause To be ingag’d, if any for Macarius, Worthy to wager heart with mine, accept it.
a. 1704. T. Brown, Two Oxf. Scholars, Wks. 1730, I. 3. I’ll wager my head against thee.
1832. Ht. Martineau, Homes Abroad, iv. 63. Ellen could give no better reason than that she could wager her life upon it.
c. To offer to put to the issue of a contest, to venture.
1829. Scott, Ivanhoe, xxv. We hold ye as robbers and traitors, and will wager our bodies against ye in battle, siege, or otherwise. Ibid., xxxviii. ‘That is but brick space,’ answered Rebecca, ‘for a stranger … to find one who will do battle, wagering life and honour for her cause, against a knight who is called an approved soldier.’
3. intr. To offer or lay a wager, to make a bet.
1602. Shaks., Ham., IV. vii. 135. Wee’l … bring you in fine together, And wager on your heads.
1605. B. Jonson, Volpone, IV. i. if I had But one to wager with, I would lay odds now, He tells me instantly.
1722. Wodrow, Corr. (1843), II. 647. It seems certain that an assassination was designed; and I hear the Jacobites … were wagering on it some weeks ago.
1819. Scott, Leg. Montrose, xxi. He hath wagered deeply for a son of Diarmid.
b. With clause or inf.: To make a wager, to bet that ….
1604. Shaks., Oth., IV. ii. 12. I durst (my Lord) to wager, she is honest; Lay downe my Soule at stake. Ibid. (1608), Per., V. i. 43. We haue a maid in Metiline, I durst wager would win some words of him.
1667. Leathermore: Advice conc. Gaming (1668), 8, I’le wager the Box shall have 1500 l. of the Money, and that 18 of the 20 persons shall be losers.
1841. Dickens, Barn. Rudge, ii. I’ll wager that your stopping here to-night would please him better than it would please me.
1848. G. F. Ruxton, in Blackw. Mag., LXIV. 441. One may safely wager to see a dozen coyotes or prairie wolves loping round.
¶ 4. Misused for WAGE v. 7. Obs. rare–1.
1592. Arden of Feversham, I. i. 524. Indaunger not your selfe for such a Churle, But hyre some Cutter for to cut him short, And heer’s ten pound to wager them withall.
Hence Wagered ppl. a.; Wagering ppl. a.
1823. ‘Jon Bee,’ Dict. Turf, s.v. Wagers, These are ‘wagering kiddies’—or fellows who lay quirking bets on equivocal subjects.
1876. Morris, Æneids, XII. 151. I may not look upon the fight, or see the wagered field.
1902. Westm. Gaz., 1 April, 6/3. Mr. John Alcock, aged sixty-two, yesterday walked backwards from Macclesfield marketplace to the Crescent, Buxton,… 15 min. 15 sec. under the wagered time.
