poundage

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun A commission of so much in a pound upon the earnings of weavers, paid in some parts of England to superintendents of weaving-plants.
• To assess or rate by poundage; collect as poundage.
• noun The series of pounds in an abattoir in which animals can be kept until they are slaughtered.
• noun A certain sum or rate per pound sterling; a tax, duty, or deduction of so much per pound; specifically, in English history, a duty of 12d. in the pound on exported or imported merchandise. See tonnage and poundage (under tonnage), and subsidy.
• noun In law, an allowance to a sheriff or similar officer, computed by a percentage on the value of property seized by him or the amount of the judgment or process satisfied, as a compensation for his service.
• noun In salt-manuf., the number of pounds of salt contained in one cubic foot of brine.
• noun The confinement of cattle in a pound.
• noun A charge levied upon the owners of impounded cattle, both as a fine for trespass and to defray the cost of caring for the animals.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• transitive verb rare To collect, as poundage; to assess, or rate, by poundage.
• noun Confinement of cattle, or other animals, in a public pound.
• noun A charge paid for the release of impounded cattle.
• noun A sum deducted from a pound, or a certain sum paid for each pound; a commission.
• noun engraving A subsidy of twelve pence in the pound, formerly granted to the crown on all goods exported or imported, and if by aliens, more.
• noun (Law) The sum allowed to a sheriff or other officer upon the amount realized by an execution; -- estimated in England, and formerly in the United States, at so much of the pound.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun countable a charge based on the weight of something in pounds
• noun countable a charge based on the value of something in pounds sterling
• noun countable a weight measured in pounds
• noun countable a fee charged for keeping an animal in a pound, or for its release
• noun uncountable the keeping of an animal in a pound

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a fee charged for the recovery of impounded animals
• noun placing private property in the custody of an officer of the law
• noun weight expressed in pounds
• noun a charge based on weight measured in pounds