breakage

Etymology

It is formed from English break + -age.^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Loss or damage caused by commercial goods being broken: before 1678, in R. Kilburne's Choice Presidents on acts of Parliament (published 1680).^[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates the act of breaking to about 1701,^[5] Etymonline gives 1767 for the loss or damage,^[3] and Dictionary.com 1805–15.^[4]

Semantic evolution

From the commercial sense of loss through broken goods the word widened in 1729 to the action of breaking or the fact of being broken in general,^[2] a sense Etymonline dates only to 1813.^[3] Sailors used it from 1681 for empty space left among the cargo in a ship's hold, a use the OED marks obsolete after 1925 though Merriam-Webster Unabridged still lists it.^[2][5] From 1799 it could also mean an interruption of continuity,^[2] and in 1872 it was used once in music for the change in the voice between registers.^[2] Further senses are an allowance or compensation for goods broken in use or transit^[5][6] and the odd cents kept back from winning pari-mutuel bets.^[5]

Timeline

• before 1678 – loss or damage from goods being broken.^[2]
• 1681 – empty space among the cargo in a ship's hold (obsolete by 1925).^[2]
• 1729 – the action of breaking, or the fact of being broken.^[2]
• 1799 – an interruption of continuity or uniformity.^[2]
• 1872 – in music, the change of the voice between registers (obsolete).^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of breaking, or the fact of being broken: Careful packing kept breakage to a minimum.^[5][6][2]
2. Things broken, or their number or amount.^[5][6]
3. Loss or damage caused by breaking.^[5][2]
4. An allowance or compensation for goods broken in use or in transit.^[5][6]
5. An interruption of continuity; a break.^[5][2]
6. Odd cents not paid out to winners in pari-mutuel betting, because the payoff is rounded down to a multiple of 5 or 10.^[5]
7. (nautical) Space left unfilled when stowing a ship's hold.^[5][2]

Related words

• break
• breach
• -age

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins