A historical feudal tax or fee paid for the right to dig ditches or maintain moats on land, or the privilege of maintaining fortifications.
From Old French fossage, derived from fossa with the -age suffix indicating a tax or fee (similar to tonnage or portage). This reflects medieval land rights and obligations.
In medieval times, controlling the right to dig fossae was controlling military defense—so local lords charged fossage to anyone who wanted to protect their property, making it a form of security tax!
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