Scavage
/ˈskævɪdʒ/noun
A medieval toll or right to search and inspect goods, or a fee taken for that privilege.
Did you know?Scavage is tied to the old legal idea of inspection and seizure, and its deeper family connects to words about looking closely, spying, and even scavenging through what others leave behind.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*spek-
“to look, observe, spy”
Latin
Latin
specere
“to look at, behold”
Old French
Old French
escauage / scavage
“a fee or toll connected with inspection or search”
Middle English
English
scavage
“a municipal or feudal right to search goods and collect a fee”
Modern English
English
scavage
“a rare historical term for a search-related toll or fee”