dead-pay

noun — 2 senses

noun

Government, Military, Politics, War Pay drawn for soldiers, or others, really dead, whose names are kept on the payroll.

c. 1621-1626, Philip Massinger, The Unnatural Combat O you commanders, / That, like me, have no dead-pays.

Government, Military, Politics, War A dead soldier whose pay is illicitly claimed by another person.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.