Etymologically
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wastewater

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Etymology

It is formed from English waste + water, with the adjective,[1] and is first recorded in late Middle English as waste watre.[2] The adjective waste is from Anglo-Norman waste, from Latin vāstus (“empty, desolate”);[1] water is from Old English wæter.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Used water: Dictionary.com dates the word to 1400–50,[2] Etymonline to the mid-15th century,[1] and Merriam-Webster's first known use to the 15th century.[3]

Semantic evolution

The word is also written waste water and waste-water.[1] Modern dictionaries define it as water that has been used, for example for washing or flushing or in manufacturing, and so contains waste, and equate it with sewage.[3][4] In law it has two further senses: water that escapes from the canals or ditches of a lawful claimant and runs off the appropriator's land unused, and water left over after a chemical or manufacturing process.[5] Collins records it as an adjective, relating to waste water.[6]

Timeline

  • 1400–50 – used water, first as late Middle English waste watre.[2] Etymonline dates it to the mid-15th century.[1]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Water that has been used, as in a home or in manufacturing, and so contains waste products; sewage.[3][4]
  2. In law, water that escapes from a claimant's canals or ditches and runs off the land unused.[5]
  3. Water left over after a chemical or manufacturing process.[5]

Adjective

  1. Relating to waste water: a wastewater treatment plant.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  2. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  5. ^ a b c Garner, Bryan A., ed. (2004), Black's Law Dictionary, 8th ed., St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson West
  6. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins