The practice, activity, or system of smuggling contraband or engaging in illegal trade.
From 'contraband' plus the suffix '-ery' (practice, occupation, or place where something is done), similar to words like 'bakery' or 'sorcery' that describe both actions and locations.
The '-ery' suffix comes from Old French and creates nouns describing both what people do and where they do it—'contrabandery' is so rare that only 19th-century texts use it regularly, showing how specific occupational words die out as terms like 'smuggling' become standardized.
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