sewer
UK /ˈs(j)uːə/ · US /ˈsuɚ/ noun, verb
Forms sewers sewering sewered
- noun A pipe or channel, or system of pipes or channels, used to remove human waste and to provide drainage. “There was a blockage in the sewer after an item of clothing was flushed down the toilet.”
- verb (transitive) To provide (a place) with a system of sewers.
- noun (historical) An official in charge of a princely household, also responsible for the ceremonial task of attending at dinners, seating the guests and serving dishes.
- noun One who sews.
- noun A small tortricid moth, the larva of which sews together the edges of a leaf using silk. “the apple-leaf sewer, Ancylis nubeculana”
Synonyms
sempster sempstress seamster seamstress tailor sewist sewerage cloaca gutter toilet
Etymology
From Middle English sewer, seuer, from Anglo-Norman sewere (“water-course”), from Old French sewiere (“overflow channel for a fishpond”), from Vulgar Latin *exaquāria (“drain for carrying water off”), from Latin ex (“out of, from”) + aquāria (“of or pertaining to waters”) or from a root *exaquāre.
From Middle English seware, seuere, from Anglo-Norman asseour, from Old French asseoir (“find a seat for”), from Latin assidēre, present active infinitive of assideō (“attend to”), from ad (“to, towards, at”) + sedeō (“sit”).
sew + -er
Webster’s 1913
- noun One who sews, or stitches.
- noun A small tortricid moth whose larva sews together the edges of a leaf by means of silk; as, the apple-leaf sewer (Phoxopteris nubeculana)
- noun A drain or passage to carry off water and filth under ground; a subterraneous channel, particularly in cities.
- noun Formerly, an upper servant, or household officer, who set on and removed the dishes at a feast, and who also brought water for the hands of the guests.
Etymology [OF. sewiere, seuwiere, ultimately fr. L. ex out + a derivative of aqua water; cf. OF. essevour a drain, essever, esseuwer, essiaver, to cause to flow, to drain, to flow, LL. exaquatorium a channel through which water runs off. Cf. Ewer, Aquarium.]
Etymology [Cf. OE. assewer, and asseour, OF. asseour, F. asseoir to seat, to set, L. assidere to sit by; ad + sedere to sit (cf. Sit); or cf. OE. sew pottage, sauce, boiled meat, AS. seáw juice, Skr. su to press out.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “sewer”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details