drainage

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the process of removing excess liquid or allowing it to flow away

   Good drainage prevents rainwater from collecting around the foundations.

2. 2
   noun

   a system of drains, pipes, or channels that carries liquid away

   The city replaced the damaged underground drainage after the flood.

3. 3
   noun

   the natural flow of water from land, or the area served by that flow

   Several mountain streams form the river's northern drainage.

Formed from drain + -age. Drain continues Middle English dreinen, related to Old English dreahnian ("to drain, strain"). The suffix -age forms a noun for the process, result, or system, giving drainage its linked senses of liquid removal and the channels that perform it.

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