1.
payment; settling of accounts
The act of paying money. Often used in compounds to specify payment methods or timing.
カード払いでお願いします。
I'd like to pay by card, please.
分割払いと一括払い、どちらになさいますか。
Would you like to pay in installments or all at once?
今月の家賃の払いがまだだった。
I still haven't paid this month's rent.
2.
sweeping motion; brushing away; purification
A sweeping or brushing action to remove something. In Shinto contexts, refers to ritual purification to ward off evil spirits or impurity.
神社で厄払いをしてもらった。
I had a purification ritual performed at the shrine.
蜘蛛の巣を払いのけた。
I brushed away the spider web.
年末に大きな神社で払いの儀式が行われる。
Purification ceremonies are held at major shrines at the end of the year.
Derived from the verb 払う. In sense 1, commonly used in compound forms: カード払い (card payment), 現金払い (cash payment), 分割払い (installment payment), 一括払い (lump-sum payment), 後払い (pay later). Note that in compounds, 払い often voices to ばらい. In sense 2, the Shinto term 大祓 refers to the grand purification ceremony held twice yearly. See also 払い (voiced compound form).