Butlerage

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A duty formerly paid to the king's butler on every ton of wine imported into England by foreign merchants.
  • Grammar: butlerage is listed as noun.
  • Usage evidence: There is also another very antient hereditary duty belonging to the crown, called the prisage or butlerage of wines; which is considerably older than the customs, being taken notice of in the great roll of the exchequer, 8 Ric. I. still extant. Prisage was a right of taking two tons of wine from every ship importing into England twenty tons or more; which by Edward I. was exchanged into a duty of 2s for every ton imported by merchant-strangers, and called butlerage, because paid to the king's butler.

How to use "butlerage"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "butlerage" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

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  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "butlerage" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

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Compare nearby meanings

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Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "butlerage" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

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3. Confirm with context

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Final meaning check

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Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A duty formerly paid to the king's butler on every ton of wine imported into England by foreign merchants. archaic, countable, historical, uncountable

    "There is also another very antient hereditary duty belonging to the crown, called the prisage or butlerage of wines; which is considerably older than the customs, being taken notice of in the great roll of the exchequer, 8 Ric. I. still extant. Prisage was a right of taking two tons of wine from every ship importing into England twenty tons or more; which by Edward I. was exchanged into a duty of 2s for every ton imported by merchant-strangers, and called butlerage, because paid to the king's butler."

Example

"There is also another very antient hereditary duty belonging to the crown, called the prisage or butlerage of wines; which is considerably older than the customs, being taken notice of in the great roll of the exchequer, 8 Ric. I. still extant. Prisage was a right of taking two tons of wine from every ship importing into England twenty tons or more; which by Edward I. was exchanged into a duty of 2s for every ton imported by merchant-strangers, and called butlerage, because paid to the king's butler."

Common questions

What does "butlerage" mean?

A duty formerly paid to the king's butler on every ton of wine imported into England by foreign merchants.

How do you use "butlerage" in a sentence?

There is also another very antient hereditary duty belonging to the crown, called the prisage or butlerage of wines; which is considerably older than the customs, being taken notice of in the great roll of the exchequer, 8 Ric. I. still extant. Prisage was a right of taking two tons of wine from every ship importing into England twenty tons or more; which by Edward I. was exchanged into a duty of 2s for every ton imported by merchant-strangers, and called butlerage, because paid to the king's butler.

Etymology

From butler + -age.

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