Containing or affected by bilge water; damaged or made leaky so that water collects in the lowest part of a ship.
Past participle of 'bilge,' from Middle Dutch 'bulge' meaning 'the lowest part of a ship's hold.' The word originally referred to the part of the hull where dirty water collects, then extended to the water itself.
Bilge water is so notoriously gross—it's a mixture of water, oil, rust, and waste that settles in the lowest part of ships—that calling something 'bilge' became slang for nonsense or lies, which sailors have been doing for centuries!
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