Spillages

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act or instance of causing a liquid to flow or fall out of its container
2. any accidental release or overflow of a substance typically involving liquids
3. the resulting amount of fluid that has been unintentionally released from a vessel or receptacle due to mishandling or defects in containment

Etymology: "Spillages" is simply the plural of "spillage," which is formed from the verb "spill" and the suffix "-age." The suffix came into English through Middle English from Old French, where it had descended from Latin "-aticum," a noun-forming ending used to turn verbs into names for an action or its result. Attaching it to "spill" yields a noun for the act of spilling or the quantity that gets spilled. The suffix is far more productive than the single word suggests. English has long used "-age" in this way to build nouns such as "breakage," "leakage," and "wastage," each naming a process or the resulting loss. "Spillage" is one of this family, and the plural "spillages" simply counts separate incidents or instances of such accidental release.

Synonyms: spills, leakages, overflows, discharges, accidents