What is "to pay one's footing"

Footing \Foot"ing\, n.

1. Ground for the foot; place for the foot to rest on; firm foundation to stand on.

   In ascent, every step gained is a footing and help to the next.
   --Holder.

2. Standing; position; established place; basis for operation; permanent settlement; foothold.

   As soon as he had obtained a footing at court, the charms of his manner . . . made him a favorite.
   --Macaulay.

3. Relative condition; state.

   Lived on a footing of equality with nobles.
   --Macaulay.

4. Tread; step; especially, measured tread.

   Hark, I hear the footing of a man.
   --Shak.

5. The act of adding up a column of figures; the amount or sum total of such a column.

6. The act of putting a foot to anything; also, that which is added as a foot; as, the footing of a stocking.

7. A narrow cotton lace, without figures.

8. The finer refuse part of whale blubber, not wholly deprived of oil.
   --Simmonds.

9. (Arch. & Enging.) The thickened or sloping portion of a wall, or of an embankment at its foot.

   Footing course (Arch.), one of the courses of masonry at the foot of a wall, broader than the courses above.

   To pay one's footing, to pay a fee on first doing anything, as working at a trade or in a shop.
   --Wright.

   Footing beam, the tie beam of a roof.