Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
lowage. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
lowage, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
lowage in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
lowage you have here. The definition of the word
lowage will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
lowage, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
Possibly from the French adjective louage (“hiring”) (Oxford English Dictionary), or a corruption of levage (Calvert, 1978).
Noun
lowage (countable and uncountable, plural lowages)
- (archaic) A charge on shipping.
1840, The parliamentary gazetteer of England and Wales. 4 vols. : "Kingston-Upon-Hull" - 'Trinity House Guild', p.575:[…] granted and assigned all their loadenage or lowage, and stowage, now called primage, dues, inward or outward of the said port […]
References
- In A history of Kingston upon Hull: from the earliest times to the present day (Hugh Calvert, 1978): "Lowage (corruption of 'levage') refers to the payments, originally gratuities, made to the master and ship's company for unloading cargo".