The act of removing or pumping out bilge water from a ship, or the process of leaking in such a way that water collects in the bilges.
Present participle of 'bilge,' from Middle Dutch 'bulge.' The gerund form shows this as an active, ongoing process essential to ship maintenance.
Bilging was such constant work on ships that sailors developed specific rhythms and songs to keep time while pumping—some sea shanties were literally about the rhythm needed to operate bilge pumps efficiently!
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