What does waterage mean?
Waterage is an uncommon noun for a charge or rate associated with water, most often a fee levied for a public water supply. In older legal and commercial contexts, it could also refer to a toll for using or passing over water, so its meaning can extend beyond ordinary household billing. The word is formal and now largely archaic or historical, with water rate serving as the usual modern expression in British usage. It is useful when discussing utility charges, public water supplies, or historical documents that record payments for water or navigation. Although the form may initially suggest something watery or diluted, waterage actually names a specific financial obligation rather than a substance or quality. Its uncommon status distinguishes it from the broad, familiar noun water, which refers to the liquid itself as well as to many related concepts.
nounA charge or rate for water supplied, especially by a public utility. In older usage, it could also mean a toll for the use of or passage over water.
- A charge or rate levied for the supply of water.
- An obsolete toll or charge for the use of or passage over water.
"The council announced an increase in the annual waterage charged to unmetered properties."
"The annual waterage was calculated according to the size and assessed value of each property."
"In the historical account, the ferry operator charged a separate waterage for passage over the canal."
The plural is possible but uncommon; waterage is also used as a mass noun when referring to water charges generally.
"The archive contained records of several disputed waterages."
Before household meters, waterage made the cost of public water somebody's bill.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of waterage
Waterage was formed in English by combining water with the noun-forming suffix -age. Its historical senses include both a charge for water supplied and a toll associated with the use of or passage over water. The suffix follows an English pattern found in other charge-related formations, although waterage itself is a distinct English coinage.
How waterage is actually used
Formal, uncommon, and now chiefly historical. In modern British usage, water rate is the more usual expression for a charge made by a water utility.
Easily confused with waterage
Waterage is a noun meaning a charge or rate associated with water, whereas watery is normally an adjective meaning full of water or thin and insubstantial.