Sewage
/ˈsuː.ɪdʒ/noun
Waste water and other liquid waste carried away through drains or sewers.
Did you know?Sewage entered English in the 19th century as a back-formation from sewer, and that older word ultimately traces to Latin for “to drain” or “to carry off,” turning a filthy modern noun into an ancient word of removal.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*seu-
“to press out, flow, drain”
Latin
Latin
exsūere
“to drain off, to suck out”
Late Latin
Latin
exsūrium
“drainage, outflow”
Old French
Old French
sewiere / essoier
“a drain, sewer”
Middle English
English
sewere
“a drain or conduit for carrying off water”
19th Century
English
sewage
“waste matter carried off by sewers”