Sewering

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. The process of constructing, laying, or maintaining underground pipes and systems that carry away waste water and sewage ; the discharge or flow of sewage through such systems
2. Building or repairing the network of pipes designed to transport wastewater from buildings to treatment facilities ; allowing waste water to flow away through drains and sewers
3. The installation or upkeep of underground conduits for carrying away waste and effluent ; the act of channeling sewage away from populated areas

Etymology: "Sewering" is the form of "sewer" with the suffix "-ing" attached, and the suffix is the more interesting part of the story. The "-ing" ending descends from Old English "-ung" and, before that, from Proto-Germanic "-ungō", a suffix that was used to form nouns from other words. Over the centuries it passed through Middle English "-ynge" and settled into its modern spelling. The base word, "sewer", is an older English noun for a channel that carries away water or waste, and "sewering" is built directly on it, so the word is simply a compound of the noun with a productive suffix rather than a borrowing from another language. Because the suffix is so common in English, many nouns formed this way are easy to coin, which is why a word like this can appear wherever a noun needs a process or result attached to it.

Synonyms: draining