1422 Rolls of Parl. IV. 173/2 A subsidie of Tonage and Poundage..that is to sey, of every Tunne iii s., and xii d. of every Pounde.

a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 123 (MED) Pondage and tonnage mey not be rekenned as parcell off the revenues wich the kynge hath ffor the mayntenance off his estate.

c1475 (c1399) Mum & Sothsegger (Cambr. Ll.4.14) (1936) iv. 16 His puruyours toke, Withoute preiere at a parlement, a poundage..And a fifteneth and a dyme eke.

1509–10 Act 1 Hen. VIII c. 20 §1 Another Subsidie called Poundage, that ys to sey: of all maner merchaundises..caryed out of this..Realme or brought into the same by wey of merchaundise of the value of every xxs., xijd.

1582 Rates Custome House (new ed.) To Rdr. sig. Aj ^v The..poundage for all maner of merchandise aswel outwards as inwards.

1621 R. Bolton Statutes Ireland 69 [12 Edw. IV] To the intent that the king..shall not be deceived of his Custome, Cocket, Tonage and poundage.

1628 King Charles I Answer xix. Propositions Parl. in Wks. (1662) I. 370 As for Tonnage and Poundage it is a thing I cannot want and was never intended by you to ask.

1642 T. Fuller Holy State ii. xxiv. 150 He knowes well that cunning is no burthen to carry, as paying neither portage by land, nor poundage by sea.

1696 R. Coke Detection Court & State Eng. I. ii. i. 252 And that Tunnage and Poundage was levied, though by no Act of Parliament, and the Guard of the Seas neglected.

1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. viii. 315 Those [subsidies] of tonnage and poundage, in particular, were at first granted, as the old statutes (and particularly 1 Eliz. c. 19.) express it, for the defence of the realm, and the keeping and safeguard of the seas.

1888 W. Denton Eng. in 15th Cent. ii. 229 Tonnage and poundage..were voted by parliament to the sovereign, sometimes for two or for three years, and sometimes for the lifetime of the king.

1978 Eng. Hist. Rev. 93 587 The meagre revenue came from poundage on prohibited wares exported under licence.

1988 Oxf. Illustr. Encycl. III. 94/1 Tunnage and poundage was introduced under Edward II.

2002 D. A. Orr Treason & State iv. 117 The following particulars concerned the actual collection of extraparliamentary levies of ship money and tonnage and poundage.

1599 T. Nashe Lenten Stuffe 16 There beeing two hundreth in it worth three hundred pounde a peece, with poundage and shillings to the lurtched.

1693 T. Southerne Maids Last Prayer iii. iii I shall be paid in crack't money, and pay poundage into the bargain.

1749 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 10 Jan. (1932) (modernized text) IV. 1292 Pay that money..yourself, and not through the hands of any servant, who always..stipulates poundage.

1835 Crompton, Meeson & Roscoe's Rep. II. 334 The sheriff is entitled to poundage on the whole amount of the goods levied.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 309 The paymaster of the forces had a poundage, amounting to about five thousand a year, on all the money which passed through his hands.

1892 E. K. Blyth in Law Times 93 488/2 Scandalously high court fees charged by way of poundage.

1906 Times 1 May 4/4 The commission, or poundage, on these [postal] orders varies from ½d. to 1½d.

1971 N.Y. Law Jrnl. 23 Nov. 20/5 Conditional upon the defendant reimbursing the plaintiff in the sum of $21 expended in connection with the issuance of the execution..and also the amount of the poundage, if any.

1993 Dict. National Biogr.: Missing Persons 70/2 Blackwell and Deane received a basic salary plus poundage according to the level of military spending.

1892 Labour Comm. Gloss. Poundage, a system in vogue in the slate industry to adjust the wages of the workmen. Every month when the claims of the slate quarrymen are made out an addition of so much in the pound is made upon the slate bill, that is, the payment due according to the standard rates. Poundage, the system under which the wages of tacklers or overlookers in cotton mills are based upon the output of the looms, being so much in the pound on the total earnings of the weavers under their charge.

1892 Times 5 Jan. 8/2 When the men were paid at the quarry offices..they handed over..to the ‘contractor’ varying sums of ‘poundage’.

1901 Westm. Gaz. 6 Sept. 8/1 The principle of poundage was agreed to by the men, who, however, prefer a higher fixed wage and less poundage.

1957 Brit. Jrnl. Sociol. 8 347 This bonus payment (‘poundage’ and ‘oil-money’) is paid in a lump sum at the end of the voyage.

2002 Lincs. Echo (Nexis) 29 Oct. 32 They [sc. fleet owners] tried to introduce a new pay system—poundage—based on a share of the catch.

1899 Times 4 Sept. 9/2 Although he [sc. a horse] was conceding liberal poundage to his opponents he won in a canter.

1903 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Jan. 60/1 Our heaviest [fish] at that date was 20 lb., and there seemed to be a want of proportion in the business, an almost indelicate exuberance of poundage.

1956 Strength & Health Nov. 42/2 Do you have recurring dream patterns such as..attempting to lift a world record poundage?

2004 Racing Post (Nexis) 3 Sept. 12 The range of weights has been significantly reduced, and trainers are inclined to take their charges elsewhere if they are assigned a poundage that the likes of Bold Ruler and Forli would have treated as so many feathers.

1915 Baseball Mag. June 39/1 Added weight has driven many a good ballplayer out of the game and yet, in many cases, extra bulk, a large increase in poundage, has helped to keep a player in the business.

1930 P. G. Wodehouse Very Good, Jeeves iv. 93 Women who have anything to do with opera..always appear to run to surplus poundage.

1971 Time 5 Apr. 44/3 With his hair transplant and added poundage.

1986 Fortune 18 Aug. 33/3 People with a predisposition toward poundage must of course eat sensibly and, even more important, get proper exercise.