sewer

¹

[soo-er]

noun

1. an artificial conduit, usually underground, for carrying off waste water and refuse, as in a town or city.

verb (used with object)

1. to provide or equip with sewers.

   a tax increase necessary to sewer the neighborhood.

sewer

²

[soh-er]

noun

1. a person or thing that sews.

sewer

³

[soo-er]

noun

1. a former household officer or head servant in charge of the service of the table.

sewer

¹

/ ˈsuːə /

noun

1. a drain or pipe, esp one that is underground, used to carry away surface water or sewage

verb

1. (tr) to provide with sewers

sewer

²

/ ˈsəʊə /

noun

1. a person or thing that sews

sewer

³

/ ˈsuːə /

noun

1. (in medieval England) a servant of high rank in charge of the serving of meals and the seating of guests

Other Word Forms

• sewerless adjective
• sewerlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sewer¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English suer(e) “drainage ditch,” from dialectal Old French se(u)wiere “overflow channel, pond sluice” (compare Old French ess(e)ouer(e) “ditch”), from unrecorded Vulgar Latin exaquāria “drain for carrying water off,” equivalent to Latin ex- “out of, away” + aquāria “pertaining to water” (feminine singular of aquārius ); -ary ( def. ), -er ², sew ²

Origin of sewer²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English sewer(e), souere, sower; sew ¹, -er ¹

Origin of sewer³

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English sever(e), sewerer “attendant who served or tasted his master's food,” shortened form of Anglo-French asseour “one who sets the table, seater,” equivalent to Old French asse(oir) “to seat” (from Latin assidēre “to attend upon”) + -our; assiduous, -or ² )

Word History and Origins

Origin of sewer¹

C15: from Old French esseveur, from essever to drain, from Vulgar Latin exaquāre (unattested), from Latin _ex- ¹ + aqua water

Origin of sewer²

C14: shortened from Anglo-French asseour, from Old French asseoir to cause to sit, from Latin assidēre, from sedēre to sit

Example Sentences

The rains have stranded millions mid-commute, left cars floating in streets that have turned into rivers and caused outbreaks of leptospirosis, a liver ailment that spreads through the excrement of sewer rats.

From BBC

The city that Tom Bradley has led with impassive aplomb for 17 years is frayed at the edges, with aging sewers and inadequate housing stock.

From Los Angeles Times

The property where he lived with his wife didn’t have electricity or sewer lines at first, but that didn’t bother him.

From Salon

There, the conservation law swiftly came into conflict with a massive project to decommission thousands of septic tanks and replace them with a sewer system.

From Los Angeles Times

Some protests took on almost ritualistic qualities: cans of New Coke were dumped into sewers, a vivid testament to how deeply, and theatrically, people could commit to a product they loved.

From Salon

Related Words

• gutter 
• septic tank 
• sewage system www.thesaurus.com