Driftage

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A fee charged for the transportation or towing of goods by sea
2. Compensation demanded for moving cargo or vessels across water
3. The amount paid to cover the hauling or movement of freight by a ship

Etymology: "Driftage" is formed from "drift" with the suffix "-age," which in English forms nouns meaning a collective, a charge or fee, or an action or result. Here the sense is a charge for moving goods, so a shipowner's payment for the hauling of freight is what the suffix attaches to. The base word "drift" has a notable past. Its root sense is something driven or pushed along, and from there it came to mean a heap of snow or sand piled up by the wind, and a current or course that carries a boat off its intended path. The fee sense grows naturally from that idea of cargo being carried along by water. Because the word is a plain combination of a common verb and a productive suffix, its meaning is transparent: it names the cost of getting goods moved over water. Its exact date of first use is not something I can confirm here.