ullage

[uhl-ij]

noun

the amount by which the contents fall short of filling a container, as a cask or bottle.

the quantity of wine, liquor, or the like, remaining in a container that has lost part of its contents by evaporation, leakage, or use.

Rocketry. the volume of a loaded tank of liquid propellant in excess of the volume of the propellant; the space provided for thermal expansion of the propellant and the accumulation of gases evolved from it.

Origin of ullage

1400–50; late Middle English < Anglo-French ulliage; Old French ouillage, (h)eullage wine needed to fill a cask, equivalent to (a)ouill(er) to fill (a cask) (derivative of ouil eye, hole < Latin oculus) + -age -age

Related formsul·laged, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for ullage

ullage

noun

the volume by which a liquid container falls short of being full

the quantity of liquid lost from a container due to leakage or evaporation
(in customs terminology) the amount of liquid remaining in a container after such loss

verb (tr)

to create ullage in

to determine the amount of ullage in

to fill up ullage in

Derived Formsullaged, adjective

Word Origin for ullage

C15: from Old French ouillage filling of a cask, from ouiller to fill a cask, from ouil eye, from Latin oculus eye

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for ullage

"amount by which a cask or bottle falls short of being full," late 15c., from Anglo-French ulliage (early 14c.), Anglo-Latin oliagium (late 13c.), Old French ouillage, from ouiller "to fill up (a barrel) to the bung," literally "to fill to the eye," from ueil "eye," from Latin oculus (see eye (n.)).