butlerage

[ buht-ler-ij ]

noun

, Old English Law.

1. the privilege allowed the king's butler to take a certain quantity of every cask of wine imported by an alien.

Word History and Origins

Origin of butlerage¹

First recorded in 1485–95; butler + -age

Example Sentences

There is also another antient hereditary duty belonging to the crown, called the prisage or butlerage of wines.

From Project Gutenberg

Butlerage ceased to be levied in 1809, by the Customs Consolidation Act of that year.

From Project Gutenberg