demurrage

English

Etymology

1640s, from Old French demorage, from demorer (English demur),[1] from Latin dēmorārī (to tarry).

By surface analysis, demur (delay) +‎ -age, with doubled ‘r’ to clarify pronunciation and avoid ambiguity with demure.

Pronunciation

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Noun

demurrage (countable and uncountable, plural demurrages)

  1. (shipping) the detention of a ship or other freight vehicle, during delayed loading or unloading
  2. compensation paid for such detention
  3. a charge made for exchanging currency for bullion
  4. the cost associated with owning or holding currency over a given period
  5. a type of currency which requires paying a fee to store money; a type of currency that discourages using money as a store of value

Antonyms

  • (antonym(s) of detention of a ship, or fee paid for it): despatch

Coordinate terms

Translations

References

  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “demurrage”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.