The craft or business of making wooden barrels, casks, and similar containers.
From 'cooper' (a person who makes barrels) + '-age' (a suffix meaning craft or practice). Cooper comes from Old Dutch 'kuiper,' meaning barrel-maker. The suffix '-age' was borrowed from Old French and indicates a profession or its associated activities.
The word 'cooperage' reveals a whole forgotten profession! In medieval and colonial times, coopers were essential craftspeople because barrels were the primary way to store and transport everything from beer to salted fish. A single cooper's workshop was called a coopery, and whole neighborhoods were built around these skilled trades.
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