What does poundage mean?
Poundage is a noun for an amount measured in pounds or, more specifically, a charge calculated according to the weight or value of goods. Its wording reflects its historical and commercial use: businesses or authorities might assess poundage on cargo, raw materials, shipments, or other commodities. In that sense, it is more particular than a general fee, because the charge is tied to the number of pounds involved. The word can also be used simply for weight expressed in pounds, though this use is less common than the fee-related sense. Poundage is most characteristic of formal, administrative, and commercial English, particularly in shipping, trade, taxation, and industry. It is not typically used when describing a person’s body weight, where people simply say “weight” or use a unit such as kilograms or pounds.
An amount of weight measured in pounds.
"The delivery company estimated the poundage of the consignment."
This sense is relatively uncommon compared with the charge-related sense.
A fee, duty, or charge assessed per pound of weight or value.
"The exporter paid a poundage on the shipment."
Chiefly used in commercial, legal, historical, and administrative contexts.
Plural poundages refers to multiple weight-based amounts, fees, or charges.
"The different carriers charged separate poundages for the same load."
Poundage is the practical language of weight-based charges: it asks not merely what something weighs, but how many pounds of weight are being counted.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does poundage come from?
The word is formed within English from pound and the suffix -age. Pound itself comes through Old English from Latin pondus, meaning “weight”; the same Latin root also underlies words such as ponder and ponderous. The -age suffix indicates an amount, action, or charge, so poundage developed the sense of a quantity measured in pounds and, especially, a fee assessed per pound.
How poundage is actually used
The term is formal and relatively specialized. It is common in contexts involving freight, customs, commodities, and historical taxes, but is less usual in everyday conversation.
Easily confused with poundage
A pound is a unit of mass or a currency and container, whereas poundage is an amount or charge calculated according to pounds.