Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “sewage” come from?

Sewage derives from English sewer, which comes from English sew, tracing back through Chinese 兒 to Latin -aticum, -are, -arius, and ultimately Latin securus meaning secure or free from care.

sewage (English): A suspension of water and solid waste,...

Definitions

  1. A suspension of water and solid waste,...

Ancestry of “sewage”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsewerA pipe or system of pipes used to remove human...
2EnglishsewTo use a needle to pass thread repeatedly through...
3Middle EnglishsewAlternative form of sowe
4Old Englishseawsap, juice; moisture; humour
5Proto-West Germanic*sauw—
Every word from Proto-West Germanic *sauw →