pay envelope
1
3.2
- noun
- /peɪ ˈɛnvəloʊp/
- Archaic
- Miss Burke... make up Mr. Larkin's pay envelope and give it to him when he comes.
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Watch on YouTubeAnd you know, there's more to life than than just the pay envelope.
- And you know, there's more to life than than just the pay envelope.
Examples
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She opened her pay envelope to find her wages for the week inside.
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Uncle Roger has your pay envelope ready.
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When you get back, there'll be a nice little surprise in your pay envelope.
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You do as I tell you and there's a nice bonus in your next pay envelope, okay?
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One day, I accidentally left my pay envelope sitting out on the dresser.
Fiction book (1996) -
Finally, Normal relents, reaches into a drawer, and hands her a pay envelope.
Fiction book (2000) -
" At four o'clock, Beth distributes the pay envelopes.
Fiction book (2002) -
One day early in 1920, he looked in his monthly pay envelope and found it was about a quarter of what he'd earned in the theater the last week.
Fiction book (1995) -
At the end of the month, the manager distributed the pay envelope to each employee.
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He was excited to see a bonus included in his pay envelope this time.
Synonyms
913
1.0
Money you receive for work or services
1
3.5
The money a worker gets for work, often in an envelope
1
5.8
An envelope that holds a worker's pay, often given weekly
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an envelope containing an employee's wages' is directly and compositionally derived from 'pay' (remuneration) + 'envelope' (a paper sleeve), so a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer the MWE. The noun–noun compound follows a common and transparent formation found across many languages, making the expression immediately comprehensible without prior exposure.
Etymology
The noun pay envelope comes from the simple practice of employers putting a worker's pay in an envelope and handing it out on payday. So the phrase means 'an envelope containing an employee's wages'.