prisage

American  

[prahy-zij] / ˈpraɪ zɪdʒ /

noun

Old English Law.

1. the right of the king to take a certain quantity of every cargo of wine imported.

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prisage British  

/ ˈpraɪzɪdʒ /

noun

1. a customs duty levied until 1809 upon wine imported into England

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Etymology

Origin of prisage

1495–1505; prise + -age; compare Medieval Latin prisāgium

Example Sentences

In the 14th century the burgesses of Hull disputed the right of the archbishop of York to prisage of wine and other liberties in Hull, which they said belonged to the king.

From Project Gutenberg

It was the practice, exercised according to ancient custom, of the Archbishop of York to claim prisage from every vessel of twenty tons burden entering the river Hull.

From Project Gutenberg

Prisage, prī′zāj, n. formerly a right of the English kings to seize for crown purposes, esp. that of taking two tuns of wine from every ship importing twenty tuns or more.

From Project Gutenberg

What is established is that the “prisage” of wine or levy of one cask in ten, and the taking of one-tenth or one-fifteenth of other commodities was in force.

From Project Gutenberg

The English merchants, however, for the time, successfully resisted the application in their case of the higher charges, and consequently remained under the old prisage of wine.

From Project Gutenberg