noun
fee for a geisha or prostitute's services
Historical term for the payment made to a geisha or sex worker for their time and entertainment. Not used in modern everyday contexts.
昔は、遊郭で揚げ代を払って芸者を呼んだ。
In the old days, people paid a fee to call a geisha in the pleasure quarters.
Compound of 揚げ (age, 'raising' or 'lifting', here possibly from 揚げる meaning 'to call out' a geisha) and 代 (dai, 'fee'). The exact derivation is uncertain, but it is a historical term from the Edo period pleasure quarters.