A toll or tax paid for the use of a canal, or the business and infrastructure of operating canals.
From French canalage, derived from canal plus the suffix -age (indicating a tax, right, or service). The -age suffix was commonly added to create nouns indicating fees or services in medieval and early modern commerce.
Medieval cities that built canals literally made money from the water itself—canalage fees were a hidden tax on trade, and studying which cities charged them reveals medieval commerce routes and power structures.
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