sinkage

American  

[sing-kij] / ˈsɪŋ kɪdʒ /

noun

1. the act, process, amount, or degree of sinking.

2. a surface sunk for decorative effect.

3. Printing.

   1. the lowering of the first line of body text on a page from its usual position, as at the beginning of a chapter.

   2. the amount of such lowering.

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sinkage British  

/ ˈsɪŋkɪdʒ /

noun

1. rare the act of sinking or degree to which something sinks or has sunk

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Etymology

Origin of sinkage

First recorded in 1880–85; sink + -age

Example Sentences

Her sinkage of heart at the proffered eight dollars a week was followed by a quick resurgence of vitality at the prospect of the advancement held out.

From Star-Dust by Hurst, Fannie

These caissons were provided for their sinkage with temporary dams of masonry closing the opening of the lock at the extremities of each caisson, enabling the gates to be subsequently erected under their shelter.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 5 "Dinard" to "Dodsworth" by Various

Lips lifted to belie a sinkage of heart, Miss Schump, left standing, backed finally, sinking down to one of the camp-chairs against the wall.

From Humoresque A Laugh on Life with a Tear Behind It by Hurst, Fannie

The difficulty was at length overcome, but all along the side of the sinkage the earth was thrown up, broken into yawning chasms, and the surface was thus elevated above its old watery level.

From Man and Nature or, Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action by Marsh, George P.

At their base, slightly tilted forward as if with the sinkage of years, stood a great stone figure roughly carved, thirty feet high at least—mysterious-looking, the very spirit of the place.

From The Blue Lagoon: a romance by Stacpoole, H. De Vere (Henry De Vere)

Related Words

• bowl
• lagoon
• pan
• pool
• pot
• tub
• valley
• watershed