bilge meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

bilge

noun

/bɪld͡ʒ/

Etymology Likely derived from bulge. Compare Middle English bulgen (“to ground or scuttle a ship”).

Nautical, Transport The rounded portion of a ship's hull, forming a transition between the bottom and the sides.

Nautical, Transport The lowest inner part of a ship's hull, where water accumulates.

[…] water deluged into the cockpit and Niagaraed into the bilge. Only constant use of the pump kept the floorboards from going adrift.1943, MotorBoating, volume 71, number 1, page 134:

The water accumulated in the bilge; bilge water.

Slang Stupid talk or writing; nonsense.

2 more examples

"The whole thing is the most absolute bilge and a disgrace to our legislature."1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “In which the Notorious Criminal Gets what the British Law Considers to be His Deserts”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:
That they can, with a straight face, praise it as good scholarship calls into question whether they can any longer recognize even passable scholarship. More likely, however, they know bilge when they see it—but laud this particular bilge nonetheless because it furthers a common partisan interest.2026, Michael Anton, “Fury Road”, in The Claremont Review of Books, The Claremont Institute, →ISSN, →OCLC:

The bulging part of a barrel or cask.

verb

Etymology Likely derived from bulge. Compare Middle English bulgen (“to ground or scuttle a ship”).

Nautical, Transport To spring a leak in the bilge.

To bulge or swell.

Nautical, Transport To break open the bilge(s) of.