Poundage
/ˈpaʊn.dɪdʒ/noun
A tax, toll, or fee assessed by the pound; also the state or amount of weighing a certain number of pounds.
Did you know?Poundage began as a real administrative charge in medieval English, from the same root as *pound*—a word tied to weighing, and ultimately to the Latin *pondus* meaning “weight.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pend-
“to hang, weigh”
Latin
Latin
pondus
“weight, heaviness”
Late Latin
Latin
pondāgium
“a duty or fee assessed by weight”
Middle English
English
poundage
“a charge or tax calculated by the pound”
Modern English
English
poundage
“a fee, commission, or amount expressed in pounds”