sewerage
sewerage Lexical Profile
sewerage Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The physical infrastructure of underground pipes, drains, pumping stations, and appurtenances used to collect and convey wastewater and surface runoff from buildings to treatment or disposal points; the removal and disposal of sewage by such a system.
"The municipal government approved a major bond issue to modernize the city's aging sewerage and prevent storm overflows."
The waterborne waste matter and excrement carried off in sewers; sewage.
"Heavy flooding caused raw sewerage to contaminate several low-lying agricultural fields along the river."
Word Nuance & Usage
Easily confused with "sewage": in strict technical usage, "sewerage" refers to the physical infrastructure of pipes, drains, and treatment facilities, whereas "sewage" refers to the liquid waste matter carried within that system.
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the early 19th century from "sewer" (derived from Old Northern French "seuwiere", meaning an overflow channel from a fishpond, ultimately from Latin "exaquare", "to drain out water") plus the collective suffix "-age".