Learn English – the origin of the phrase “pay attention”

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If this were a "modern" phrase, you could (perhaps) justify it based on psychological science, related to the usage of energy by brain activity, including putting attention into something. As such "pay attention" could have emerged as "pay the cost of some mental energy into giving attention to something".

However, it seems this phrase dates at least from half of the XVIII century (axis below from 1600 to 2008):

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So, the scientific justification given above might not apply to such phrase. I cannot find any answer for this online (other forums are unhelpful, e.g. here or here).

So, what is the origin of such phrase?

Note: there are several question in this site about when to use that or an alternative expression (e.g. here, here, and here), which is not what I am asking.

Best Answer

Pay in "pay attention" has no connotation of expresiveness, both in term of energy or else. As suggested by the following source, pay here refers to the old meaning of "bestow, give";

The verb “pay,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary, has long meant “to render, bestow, or give,” and what’s bestowed can be attention, a compliment, even one’s allegiance or homage, to mention just a few examples.

For instance, you can “pay your respects,” “pay a compliment,” “pay heed” to advice, and “pay a visit.” In times gone by, a suitor would “pay his addresses” to a young lady. And she might either “pay attention” or “pay him no mind.”

These citations from the OED illustrate how “pay” has been used in this way over the centuries.

  • 1600: “Not paying mee a welcome” (from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream).

  • 1667: “You deserve wonder, and they pay but praise” (from a poem by the Earl of Orrery).

(The Grammarphobia)

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