'blockage' originates from Middle English 'block' (from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German 'bloc' meaning 'a block') combined with the suffix '-age' from Old French, which forms nouns indicating an action or result.

'block' came into English from Middle Dutch/Middle Low German 'bloc'; the French/Old French noun-forming suffix '-age' was added later to create 'blockage' in Modern English, yielding the meaning 'the act of blocking' or 'that which blocks'.

Initially it meant 'the act or result of blocking' and 'a thing that blocks'; over time it has come to be used broadly for physical obstructions, medical occlusions, and figurative impediments, but the core sense remains 'something that blocks or the condition of being blocked.'