Verbiage
Words that end in "-AGE"


While plowing through a pile of words, I came upon yet another odd word ending in -age and thought I ought to put a few of them in a little corral where I can admire them a bit. An entire family of these words seem to refer to old English customs of taxation, servitude, or privilege, and presumably reflected the dominant role of Norman French. Borrowings from French continued for centuries.

Not ready for prime time:

        acreage
        adage
        advantage
        amperage
        anchorage
        appendage
        arbitrage
        arrearage
        assemblage
        assuage
        baggage
        bandage
        baronage
        beverage
        blockage
        bondage
        burrage
        carriage
        coinage
        cubage
        damage
        decoupage
        dressage
        garage
        garbage
        luggage
        marriage
        menage
        mileage
        pillage
        presage
        ravage
        salvage
        savage
        seepage
        tonnage
        verbiage
        voltage
      

Impostors:

        aburage - deep-fried tofu
        anlage ([German loanword] the first traces of an organ 
          in the embryo)
        Apinage - an Indian tribe of Brazil
        Stan Brakhage (an experimental film maker)
        Carthage
        cowage or cowhage - a bristly plant used as a mechanical vermifuge!
        gurage - a Semitic language spoken in southern Ethiopia
        image
        Osage
        sparage - a variant of "asparagus".
        Stevenage - a town in England
        Swanage - a town in England.
        teenage
        uncage
        Wantage - a town in southern England, 
          birthplace of Alfred the Great.
      


Last modified on 19 March 2021.