drainage English · revision 39747

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1652}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈdɹeɪnəd͡ʒ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was formed [[af|en|drain|-age]] in English, from the verb ''drain'' and the noun suffix ''-age''.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The action or work of draining land or water: 1652, in a record of the drainage of the Isle of Axholme,^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) the 1650s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) Dictionary.com dates the word to 1645–55.^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word first named the act of draining, especially of marshy land,^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) and also the gradual drawing off of anything, as of money from a purse.^(HTOED)^(SOED 2002) From 1834 it was used for what a system of drains carries away, that is, sewage,^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) and by 1860, according to Etymonline, for the water carried off by a system of rivers.^(Etymonline) A river valley or area drained, a drainage basin, is recorded from 1866,^(OED 2026) chiefly in American use,^(SOED 2002) and the system of drains itself, artificial or natural, from 1877.^(HTOED)^(Etymonline) In gardening the word has meant, since 1892, the broken crocks or other porous material put at the bottom of a flowerpot so that water can run out.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1652 – the action or work of draining.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1834 – what is drained off; sewage.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1860 – the water carried off by a system of rivers.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1866 – an area drained; a drainage basin.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1877 – a system of drains.^(HTOED)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1892 – porous material used to drain a flowerpot.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act or process of [[drain|alt=draining]] water or another liquid from a place: ''Drainage of the bog took three summers.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A system of drains, [[pipe|alt=pipes]] or natural [[watercourse|alt=watercourses]] that carries water away: ''The new estate has poor drainage.''^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Liquid that has been drained away, especially [[sewage]].^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # (chiefly US) An area drained by a river and its tributaries; a drainage [[basin]].^(SOED 2002)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[overdrainage]]

+ * [[underdrainage]]

+ * [[drainageway]]

+ * [[drainage basin]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[drain]]

+ * [[dry]]

+ * [[sewage]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}