prisage

P3R1I1S1A1G2E1
/ˈpɹaɪzɪd͡ʒ/

noun

A right belonging to the crown of England, of taking two tuns of wine from every ship importing twenty tuns or more: one before and one behind the mast.

OriginOld French prisage ← French prise →
Scrabble 10
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Meanings

nounprisage (countable and uncountable, plural prisages)

plural prisages

  1. UKcountableobsoleteuncountablelawA right belonging to the crown of England, of taking two tuns of wine from every ship importing twenty tuns or more: one before and one behind the mast.

    There is also another very ancient hereditary duty belonging to the crown, called the prisage, or butlerage of wines

    1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, (please specify |book=I to IV), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC
    2 more examples

    The said Gewen is known to be a man of a low fortune and is much en∣debted to the State as is beleeved, not only for the money he received in Plimouth for assessements and sequestrations, but also for the prisage of wines, for the which he hath given no accompt at all

    1644/1645, Philip Francis of Plymouth, The misdemeanors of a traytor, and treasurer […]

    […] in England, customs duties anciently imposed upon exports and imports, the former being a duty upon all wines imported in addition to prisage and butlerage, the latter a duty imposed ad valorem at the rate of twelve-pence in the pound on all merchandise imported or exported.

    1911, “Tonnage and Poundage”, in Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th edition, New York, N.Y.: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
  2. countableobsoleteuncountableThe share of merchandise taken as lawful prize at sea which belongs to the king or admiral.

Origin

  1. Frenchprise“a taking, capture, prize”
  2. Old Frenchprisage“a praising, valuing, taxing”
  3. Englishprisage

From Old French prisage (“a praising, valuing, taxing”) (compare Latin prisagium (“prisage”)) or from French prise (“a taking, capture, prize”). See prize.

More words from Old French, French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

prisage. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prisage

MLA

“prisage.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prisage. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “prisage,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prisage.

Source: prisage on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.