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单词 house
释义

housen.1int.

Brit. /haʊs/, U.S. /haʊs/
Inflections: Plural houses Brit. /ˈhaʊzᵻz/, U.S. /ˈhaʊzəz/;
Forms: Old English huss (rare), Old English hyses (genitive, perhaps transmission error), Old English us (Northumbrian, perhaps transmission error), Old English–Middle English hus, Middle English hoce, Middle English houus, Middle English how (perhaps transmission error), Middle English hoyse, Middle English huis, Middle English huse, Middle English husse, Middle English huus, Middle English hws, Middle English hwse, Middle English ouese, Middle English 1600s housse, Middle English–1500s houce, Middle English–1500s howsse, Middle English–1600s hous, Middle English–1600s hovs, Middle English–1600s hovse, Middle English–1600s hows, Middle English–1600s howse, Middle English– house, late Middle English howe (perhaps transmission error), 1500s hoose, 1500s howes, 1500s howose, 1500s howze, 1500s owse, 1500s–1600s hause, 1600s hose (North American), 1600s houze, 1600s howce; English regional 1700s– hoose (chiefly northern), 1800s hause (Yorkshire), 1800s howse, 1800s– 'aouse, 1800s– haas (Lancashire), 1800s– haase (Yorkshire), 1800s– hahse (Yorkshire), 1800s– haise (Cheshire), 1800s– hawwse (Cumberland), 1800s– heause (Lancashire), 1800s– heawse (Lancashire), 1800s– hooas (Cumberland), 1800s– hooase (Cumberland), 1800s– hoos (Yorkshire), 1800s– houze (chiefly south-western), 1800s– howze (south-western), 1800s– hus, 1800s– 'ouse, 1800s– owze (Devon), 1900s– 'ahs (Yorkshire), 1900s– huss (northern), 1900s– 'oos (Yorkshire); U.S. regional 1800s haouse, 1900s– hoose, 1900s– huse; Scottish pre-1700 hos, pre-1700 houis, pre-1700 houss, pre-1700 housse, pre-1700 hovse, pre-1700 howis, pre-1700 howise, pre-1700 howse, pre-1700 howsse, pre-1700 huise, pre-1700 huse, pre-1700 husse, pre-1700 huys, pre-1700 hwis, pre-1700 hws, pre-1700 1700s hous, pre-1700 1700s hows, pre-1700 1700s– house, pre-1700 (1800s– Shetland) hus, 1700s huss, 1800s oose, 1800s– hoos, 1800s– hoose, 1900s– hooze; Irish English 1800s heouse, 1800s houze, 1800s– hoose.
Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian hūs (West Frisian hûs ), Old Dutch hūs (Middle Dutch huus , huis , huys , Dutch huis ), Old Saxon hūs (Middle Low German hūs ), Old High German hūs (Middle High German hūs , German Haus ), Old Icelandic hús , Old Swedish hūs (Swedish hus ), Old Danish hūs (Danish hus ), all in a similar range of senses in early use, and Gothic hūs (only in the compound gudhūs ‘temple’, lit. ‘house of a god or of God’; the usual Gothic word is razn : see earn n.1), Crimean Gothic hus ; further etymology uncertain and disputed: perhaps ultimately < the same Indo-European base as hide n.1 and hide v.1, with original sense ‘covering’; probably also related to the Germanic bases of hose n., hoard n.1 The Germanic word was also borrowed into Slavonic (compare Old Church Slavonic xyzŭ, xyza little house, hut, pyx, and (with varying suffixation) Russian xižina, Czech chýše, Bulgarian xiža, all in sense ‘hut’).In Old English usually a strong neuter (with unchanged nominative and accusative plural); occasional by-forms are found showing levelling of the plural endings of the strong masculine (hūsas ; compare quot. OE3 at sense A. 1a(b)) or (in Northumbrian) weak masculine (hūso , hūsa , hūse ; compare variant readings in quot. OE2 at sense A. 1a(b)). In Middle English traces of the unchanged plural survive until at least the end of the 14th cent.; forms with plural in -es become the norm, although forms in -en are also attested (compare quot. 1450-1 at sense A. 1a(b)). The plural in -en is preferred by some writers of standard English in the early modern period (compare quots. 1557, 16002, 1645 at sense A. 1a(b)), and remains widespread in regional use, although now clearly recessive: Eng. Dial. Dict. records the form from almost every English county, whereas Surv. Eng. Dial. records it only from its heartland in the midlands and East Anglia (compare also the morphological double plural housens recorded from Staffordshire, and the inferred singular housen recorded from Monmouthshire); Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. records the form from several eastern and north-eastern states, but marks it as obsolescent. The rare Middle English forms how, howe, if not simply scribal errors, may perhaps represent an inferred singular from the unmarked plural form. The plural form houses (Brit. /ˈhaʊzᵻz/, U.S. /ˈhaʊzəz/) is the only current example of a distinct plural form preserving the voicing of intervocalic s in standard English (for an example showing the preservation of the voicing of a different fricative, compare wives , plural of wife n.), whereas the singular reflects the word-final voiceless fricative of the nominative and accusative singular (compare Middle English housse , houce , etc.). In sense A. 2 originally after similar post-classical Latin uses (Vulgate) of classical Latin domus house (see dome n.), in turn after extended uses (Hellenistic Greek: New Testament) of ancient Greek οἶκος house (see oecist n.). With house of God at sense A. 2 compare post-classical Latin domus Dei , Hellenistic Greek ὁ οἶκος τοῦ θεοῦ . With the Lord's house at sense A. 2 compare post-classical Latin domus Domini . With house of prayer at sense A. 2 compare post-classical Latin domus orationis , Hellenistic Greek οἶκος προσευχῆς . Compare corresponding phrases in other European languages, e.g. Anglo-Norman maisun Dieu , Old French maison Dieu (first half of the 12th cent.; Middle French, French maison de Dieu ). With sense A. 7a compare the corresponding specific uses of classical Latin domus house (6th cent. in this sense; 8th cent. in this sense in British sources: see dome n.) and of Anglo-Norman maisun , Old French, Middle French, French maison mansion n. (c1165 in this sense). In sense A. 10b originally after the corresponding post-classical use (Vulgate) of classical Latin domus house (see dome n.), itself ultimately after the corresponding use of Hebrew bēṯ house (see bethel n.) in compounds, e.g. in bēṯ-yiśrā'el the Hebrew nation, bēṯ-'aḥaron the descendants of Aaron collectively, etc. With house of Israel at sense A. 10b compare post-classical Latin domus Israel (Vulgate), Hellenistic Greek οἶκος Ἰσραὴλ (New Testament). Compare corresponding uses in other European languages; compare e.g. Anglo-Norman maisun de Jacob , maisun Israël (both first half of the 12th cent.). With sense A. 11 compare the corresponding specific uses of classical Latin domus house (see dome n.) and of Middle French mansion and its etymon classical Latin mansiōn- , mansiō mansion n. In sense A. 12a after the corresponding specific use of Middle French maison mansion n. (1560 in this sense), itself after the corresponding specific use of Italian casa house (see casino n.; 1512 in this sense), both in the passage translated in quot. 1562. In sense A. 13 after the corresponding specific use of German Haus (H. von Mertens 1831, in Mémoires de l'Acad. Imp. des Sci. de St-Pétersbourg 1 207); compare quot. 1851.
A. n.1
I. A building for habitation, and related senses.
1.
a. A building for human habitation, typically and historically one that is the ordinary place of residence of a family. (Cf. home n.1 2.)Sometimes (with capital initial) in the names of individual residences, esp. large mansions or country houses.With the: a person's home.apartment, council, country, frame, manor, row, terrace, town house, etc.: see the first element.
(a) In singular.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > [noun]
bottleeOE
houseeOE
boldOE
building1297
builda1387
edificec1386
mansion1389
bigginga1400
housinga1400
edification1432
edifying1432
fabric1483
edify1555
structure1560
erection1609
framec1639
bastiment1679
drum1846
dump1899
gaff1932
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > a dwelling > a house > [noun]
houseeOE
homeOE
houseOE
roofa1382
housinga1400
bike1508
dwelling-house1530
firehouse1530
standing house?1532
mansion house1533
maisonc1540
beinga1616
smoke-housea1687
drum1846
khazi1846
casa1859
shack1910
kipsie1916
machine for living (in)1927
eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iii. viii. 180 Wæs micel fyr onæled on middum þam huse. Mid þy..þa spearcan up flugon in þæs huses hrof, se wæs mid gyrdum awunden & mid þæce beþeaht, þa gelomp þæt þæt hus eall wæs in fyren.
c1300 Holy Cross (Laud) l. 548 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 17 A rode he hadde in is hous.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2010 Putifar luuede ioseph wel, Bi-tagte him his hus euerilc del.
c1400 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. ii. l. 38 (MED) Þer nas halle ne hous to herberwe þe peple.
1545 R. Taverner tr. Erasmus Prouerbes (new ed.) f. lxviv A lyttle house well fylled A lytle ground wel tylled And a litle wife wel wylled is best.
1581 R. Mulcaster Positions xl. 225 His house is his castle.
1663 A. Cowley in Verses Several Occasions (title) Ode on Queen's repairing Somerset House.
1676 Lady Chaworth in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 33 To be quit of itt I confine myself to the house.
1710 M. Henry Comm., Luke xxii. 10 Whether it was a friend's house or a public house does not appear.
1797 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 852/1 Whitsun-Farthings..offerings..anciently made..by every man in England, who occupied a house with a chimney.
1813 Examiner 3 May 280/2 His Royal Highness..left Carlton House..accompanied by Captain Portier.
1855 Ld. Tennyson Maud vi. viii, in Maud & Other Poems 28 Living alone in an empty house.
1920 A. Carnegie Autobiogr. xi. 150 The club met at their house once a month.
1977 P. Fuller Jrnl. 29 Mar. in Marches Past (1986) 137 She began to come to the house at all sorts of unscheduled times of the day and night.
2010 E. O. Wilson Anthill i. 27 A small box-shaped house with a slanted galvanized metal roof.
(b) In plural.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > a dwelling > a house > [noun]
houseeOE
homeOE
houseOE
roofa1382
housinga1400
bike1508
dwelling-house1530
firehouse1530
standing house?1532
mansion house1533
maisonc1540
beinga1616
smoke-housea1687
drum1846
khazi1846
casa1859
shack1910
kipsie1916
machine for living (in)1927
OE Beowulf (2008) 285 A syþðan..þreanyd þolað þenden þær wunað on heahstede husa selest.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Mark (Corpus Cambr.) x. 30 Þe hundfeald ne onfo..hus [OE Lindisf. huso, OE Rushw. huse, c1384 Wycliffite, E.V. housis, 1526 Tyndale houses; L. domos] & broðru & swustru.
OE Homily (Somerset Rec. Office: DD/SASC/1193/77) in Anglo-Saxon Eng. 33 (2004) 158 Be þon cwað se helend: Gif ic forlete heom festende faren on here husas þonne teorgon he on wege.
a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 49 (MED) Riche men..habbeð..feire huses and feire hames.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 970 Þa makeden heo hus.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1602 He..wulde nogt ðat folc bi-twen Herberged in here huses ben.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 6117 And soght þair huses [Gött. housis, Fairf. houses] all bi-dene.
1450–1 in H. E. Salter Churchwardens' Accts. St. Michael's Oxf. (1933) 49 For the housen in Bedfordlane.
1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Svpper of the Lorde f. cxxxii When the holy Communion is celebrate..in priuate howses.
1557 T. North tr. A. de Guevara Diall Princes f. 194/2 The housen wherin they dwel.
1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. iii. 156 A suburbe..the houses whereof are but meane.
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. 218 Sacking, rifling and flinging the goods out of their enemies housen.
1645 in New-Eng. Historical & Geneal. Reg. (1849) III. 82 After the death of my wife I giue unto the children of my brother John all my housen and lands.
1736 H. Carey Honest Yorkshire-man 9 What a mortal big Place this same London is..Housen upon Housen.
1761 London & Environs Described IV. 23 [The mob] levelled to the ground the houses of all lawyers.
1825 J. F. Cooper Lionel Lincoln III. vii. 175 'Tis an awful calling, to be beating down the housen of people of the same religion and blood with ourselves.
1851 C. Brontë Let. 19 Apr. (2000) II. 606 Kind but misled strangers..have..written to ask me to their houses for the benefit of a milder climate.
1950 S. Grapes Boy John Lett. (1974) 35 She ha' muved out o' her cottage inter a row o' housen further away from ours.
2003 Guardian 24 Oct. ii. 10/2 Every day 5,000 new houses go up in America.
b. The portion of a building, consisting of one or more rooms, occupied by one tenant or family. In later use chiefly Scottish: a dwelling that is one of several in a building and is occupied by one tenant, family, or group; an apartment, flat, etc.In quots. OE1, OE2 translating Latin cella in senses (respectively) ‘prison cell’ and ‘monastic cell, dormitory’. Compare also resthouse n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun] > cell
houseOE
cabinc1522
hole1535
lodging1612
hold1717
cell1728
lock-up room1775
glory-hole1825
box1834
drum1846
sweat-box1870
booby-hutch1889
Peter1890
booby1899
boob1908
flowery dell1925
slot1947
society > faith > artefacts > monastic property (general) > monastery or convent > parts of monastery > [noun] > cell
houseOE
cellc1300
cluse1481
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > a dwelling > a house > types of house > [noun] > other types of house
houseOE
showernc1175
house of fencec1425
abbey1665
park1750
trust house1751
subhouse1771
hurley-house1814
bure1843
ideal home1854
tholtan1856
picture house1858
village-house1862
tumble-down1866
tree-house1867
mazet1873
riad1881
slaughterhouse1899
whare puni1911
mas1912
social housing1928
quadruplex1939
share house1945
starter home1948
show house1957
painted lady1978
self-build1978
starter1979
Earthship1985
Queenslander1985
des res1986
common house1989
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > a dwelling > a house > types of house > [noun] > flat or apartment
mansion?c1400
tenement1593
apartmenta1645
basement storey1743
flat1824
house1885
basement flat1894
apt.1901
home unit1929
triplex1932
housing unit1935
OE Aldhelm Glosses (Brussels 1650) in L. Goossens Old Eng. Glosses of MS Brussels, Royal Libr. 1650 (1974) 440 Cellam : hus.
OE Rule St. Benet (Tiber.) (1888) xxii. 54 Candela jugiter in eadem cella ardeat usque mane : candel æfre on ðam ylcan huse byrne oð merien.
?a1200 (?OE) Peri Didaxeon (1896) 31 Do hyne into þan huse [L. cubiculum], þe beo nærþer [read næþer] ne to hæt ne to ceald.
a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) iii. l. 664 I wole in þat oþer hous allone Be wardeyn of youre wommen..And in þis myddel chaumbre..Shul youre wommen slepen.
1469 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 45 (MED) I will that the seid Denyse haue the new hows callyd a parlure, wyth the kechyn, and the chamberys perteynyng.
1529 Will in W. Harding Hist. Tiverton (1847) II. 31 Every one of them shall have in the [alms] house a siverall house and chamber by himself.
1600 in A. Bisset Ess. Hist. Truth (1871) v. 217 At the last, his Majesty passing through three or four sundry houses, and all the doors locked behind him, his Majesty entered into a little study.
1763 J. Boswell Mem. 8 Sept. in F. A. Pottle Boswell in Holland (1952) 20 See François and send him to take the house and have it furnished.
1885 2nd Rep. Commissioners Housing of Working Classes 4 in Parl. Papers 1884–5 (C. 4402-I) XXX. 87 In Scotland..even in modern legislation the word ‘house’ is used for any separately occupied portion of a building, while the word ‘tenement’ represents the whole edifice, the English use of the terms being reversed.
1972 C. Brand in H. R. F. Keating Blood on Mind 37 Jessie M'Lachlan lived..in a second floor ‘house’, two rooms and a kitchen.
2001 Evening Times (Glasgow) (Nexis) 15 Aug. 4 A baby trapped in a tenement blaze was rescued... [A neighbour said] ‘The ground floor house was well alight by the time the fire service arrived.’
c. The principal room in a house, in which the family lives, as distinguished from the parlour, bedrooms, etc. In early use usually: the hall of a house; (later) the ordinary living room, typically the kitchen, in a cottage or farmhouse; = houseplace n. Now regional.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > room > room by type of use > [noun] > living room > in farmhouse
hall-house1564
inseat1811
housea1825
houseplace1894
house-piece1920
1612 Will of Robert West in J. R. Walbran Mem. Abbey St. Mary of Fountains (1863) I. 363 To Margaret, my daughter, one old arke, in the chamber over the house.
1673 J. Ray N. Countrey Words in Coll. Eng. Words 26 The House, the Room called the Hall.
a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) House, the family sitting room, as distinguished from the other apartments.
1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Howse, the principal room in a farm-house.
1893 S. O. Addy Hall of Waltheof 182 In this neighbourhood [sc. Sheffield] the kitchen of a cottage is known as ‘the house’.
1929 Amer. Speech 5 18 ‘Come inter th' house’ means to enter the front room, and may be addressed to a guest who is already in the kitchen or the bedroom.
1963 H. Orton & W. J. Halliday Surv. Eng. Dial. I. ii. 474 Q[uestion]. What do you call this part of the house we're in now [i.e. living-room]?.. [Lancashire, Yorkshire] House.
1982 in G. M. Story et al. Dict. Newfoundland Eng. 261 The kitchen, of course, is the all-purpose room, and the kitchen is called ‘the house’.
2. A place of worship, originally considered as the abode of God, or a god; a temple; a church. Usually in house of God, the Lord's house, house of prayer, etc.See also God's house n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > artefacts > sanctuary or holy place > [noun]
holinessc897
houseeOE
halidomc1000
ZionOE
God's houseOE
wike-tuna1250
saintuairea1300
sanctuarya1340
holy1382
entry?c1400
the Holy (Saint) Sepulchre (occasionally the Sepulchre)c1400
high placea1425
place of worship?1459
synagogue1490
God-box?1548
shrinea1577
bethela1617
prayer house1657
barn1689
bidental1692
altar1772
praying housea1843
eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) vi. xiv. 142 Æfter an þunor toslog hiora Capitoliam, þæt hus þe hiora godas inne wæron & hiora diofolgield.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxi. 13 Hyt ys awriten, min hus ys gebedhus [L. Domus mea domus orationis vocabitur].
c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 609 (MED) Vor me is lof to cristes huse To clansi hit wiþ fule muse.
c1425 Concordance Wycliffite Bible f. 73v (MED) Myn hous shal be clepid an hous of preier.
a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) xxii. §9. 85 Þat i won in þe hows of lord [L. in domo Domini] in lenght of dayes.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie iii. xxi. 110 b The first house of prayer whiche Abraham buylded.
1607 F. Mason Authoritie of Church 24 Wherefore..there might bee a more plentifull prouision in the house of God, our Church hath decreed, [etc.].
a1708 W. Beveridge Thes. Theologicus (1710) II. 291 Where God is pleased to reveal Himself most, is called His house.
1799 R. Southey St. Gualberto in Ballads 23 Then had not Westminster, the house of God, Served for a concert-room.
1811 R. Heber in Christian Observer Oct. 631 O Master! with paternal care Return to this thine house of pray'r.
1887 Cent. Mag. Apr. 901/1 The earliest houses of worship in America belonged to the make-shift order of architecture.
1915 J. Turner Let. 3 May in C. Warren Somewhere in France (2019) 10 I long to be in a town or village where you can at least enter the house of God when you want to.
1998 Sunday News (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) (Nexis) 12 July p3 Not too many years ago one would dress in the finest apparel to enter the Lord's house.
2010 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 6 Jan. a5 Since the mosque is a house of worship, police are considering the incident a hate crime.
3. The physical shelter of an animal, such as a den, burrow, or nest; the shell of a snail, tortoise, etc., in which the animal lives or into which it withdraws for protection.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > by habitat > habitat > [noun] > dwelling place or shelter
houseOE
denOE
holdc1275
lying-placea1382
coucha1398
homea1398
logis1477
starting-hole1530
cabbage1567
lodge1567
lair1575
lay1590
squat1590
hover1602
denning1622
start-holea1641
bed1694
niche1725
shed1821
lying1834
basking-hole1856
lie1869
homesite1882
holt1890
lying-ground1895
OE Phoenix 202 Þær se wilda fugel in þam westenne ofer heanne beam hus getimbreð, wlitig ond wynsum.
OE Ælfric Gloss. (St. John's Oxf.) 310 Limax, snægel; testudo, se þe hæfð hus.
c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 623 Wane min hus stont briȝt & grene Of þine nis noþing isene.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 377 Whan þis snayl was i-roted, þe senewes were i-streyned with ynne þe skyn of þe snayles hous.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xviii. cvii. 1256 The snayle hatte testudo and..haþ þat name for he is yheled in his hous as in a chambre.
a1450 ( tr. Vegetius De Re Militari (Douce) f. 102v (MED) Þe snayl haþ his hous ouer hym wheþer he walke or reste, and out of his hous he scheteþ his heued whan he wole & draweþ him yn aȝen.
c1460 (?c1400) Tale of Beryn l. 3242 (MED) To pipe, as doith a mowse, I woll hym tech, & for to pike a snayll out of his house.
?1566 J. Alday tr. P. Boaistuau Theatrum Mundi sig. B vij Snayles..beare with them their houses easely on their backes.
1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 25 The Sea Tortoise is not much differing from those at land, her house or shell is only flatter.
1728 J. Thomson Spring 33 The Swallow..to build his hanging House..intent.
1748 H. Ellis Voy. Hudson's-Bay 160 The Constructions of these Creatures [sc. Beavers] Dens, Burroughs, or, as they are commonly called, Houses are..built of Wood, Stone, and Clay.
1837 Parley's Mag. 5 xvii. 146/2 They [sc. birds] then lay the foundation of their house, and make a sort of frame, by placing sticks across each other, and fastening them together with clay.
1892 H. T. Martin Castorologia xii. 139 A few [beavers] are killed in the house, others get caught in the netting and soon drown.
1901 F. H. Eckstorm Woodpeckers iv. 20 All woodpeckers make their houses in the wood of trees, either the trunk or one of the branches.
1930 Boys' Life Aug. 13/2 The hermit crab's traveling house is similar to that of the tortoise, only the latter is born with it and it grows with him.
2003 D. Müller-Schwarze & L. Sun Beaver vi. 50 Beavers hissed..when they were pushed away from food or found their house closed.
4. Any of various buildings frequented or occupied by people but not necessarily or primarily used as ordinary residences. Frequently with modifying word.
a. A building, or part of a building, used for or associated with a specified occupation, activity, or purpose.For established compounds, as almshouse, bakehouse, bathhouse, courthouse, dosshouse, guesthouse, guardhouse, lighthouse, madhouse, slaughterhouse, summer house, wash house, etc., see the first element; the following are examples of more occasional usages.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > workplace > place where specific jobs are done > [noun]
housec1300
OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1900) II. 404 Thomas..cwæð þæt he wolde wyrcan..þa oþre gebytlu bæftan þære healle, bæðhus and kycenan, and winterhus and sumorhus, and wynsume buras, twelf hus togædere mid godum bigelsum.
OE Antwerp Gloss. (1955) 239 Nosochomium, seccra manna hus.
c1300 Life & Martyrdom Thomas Becket (Harl. 2277) (1845) l. 12 Greate pyne hi hadde and schame, In the Princes hous of the lawe.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) John. ii. 16 Nyle ȝe make..an hous of marchaundise.
c1450 (?c1425) St. Mary of Oignies ii. ii, in Anglia (1885) 8 152 Houses of mesels, þat are callid spitellis.
1463 in Archaeologia (1923) 74 156 The same Kechyn..with an hous of Easement..anothir Entre ledyng..vnto a house called the Cloth-house.
1552 in Vicary's Anat. Bodie of Man (1888) App. iii. 151 The house..for the relief & socour of the poore, called the house of woorke.
1591 R. Cecil Let. 26 Aug. in I. W. Archer et al. Relig., Politics, & Society in 16th-cent. Eng. (2003) 236 Sir Thomas Leighton..heareing of her Majeste's neernes, came to her dyneing howse.
1598 in Antiquary (1888) May 212 To Constables of the hundred for the housen of the hospitalls iijs iiijd.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) i. ii. 93 But shall all our houses of resort in the Suburbs be puld downe? View more context for this quotation
1703 London Gaz. No. 3893/4 A Distilling-house, Brew-house, and Vinegar-yard.
1723 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack (ed. 2) 51 I..went to a boyling House..and got a Mess of Broth.
1801 T. A. Murray Remarks Situation Poor (title page) A plan for the institution of houses of recovery for persons affected with fever.
1853 C. Tomlinson Cycl. Useful Arts (1854) II. 570/1 The tarring-house is separated from the other buildings by a second partition.
1911 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 503/2 A fifty-quarter malting does not merely mean that the cisterns have a capacity of fifty quarters, but that this quantity of barley goes through the house every four days.
1948 E. Forbes Running of Tide i. 17 His clumsy shoes, made by a one-armed cobbler here at the Charity House.
2001 Amer. Sociol. Rev. 66 699/1 Feminists turned to..establishing cafes, bookstores, and refuge houses for battered women.
b. A building where public refreshment is provided; a public house, restaurant, inn, etc.; the management of this. Now usually (referring to one identified by the context) with the (see also on the house at Phrases 11).Cf. sense B. 1.alehouse, beer house, coffee house, eating house, free house, public house, steak house, tap-house, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > drinking > drinking place > [noun] > tavern or public house
houseOE
tavern1297
tavern-housea1400
sunc1400
tap-house1500
tippling-housea1549
innsc1550
bousing-inn1575
ivy-bush1576
osteria1580
ordinary1590
caback1591
taberna1593
bousing-house1594
pothouse1598
red lattice1604
cupping-house1615
public house1617
busha1625
Wirtshaus1650
bibbery1653
cabaret1656
gaming ordinary1667
public1685
shop1695
bibbing-housea1704
dram-shop1725
gill house1728
rum shop1738
buvette1753
dram-house1753
grog-shop1790
wine-vault1791
pub1800
pulperia1818
pulqueria1822
potation-shop1823
rum hole1825
Wirtschaft1834
drunkery1836
pot shop1837
drinkery1840
rum mill1844
khazi1846
beer-shop1848
boozer1895
rub-a-dub1898
Weinstube1899
rubbity-dub1905
peg house1922
rub-a-dub-dub1932
rubbity1941
Stube1946
superpub1964
OE Ælfric Gloss. (St. John's Oxf.) 320 Stabulum, fald oððe hus be wege.
OE Antwerp Gloss. (1955) 237 Popima, i. fames, sneadinghus [OE Junius 71 Popina, snædinghus].
OE Antwerp Gloss. (1955) 241 Potionarium, ælces cinnes drenchus.
lOE Laws of Æðelred II (Rochester) iii. i. §2. 228 Þæt grið..þæt man sylle on ealahuse, bete man þæt æt deadum menn mid VI healfmarce.
c1390 Form of Confession (Vernon) in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 342 (MED) On þe sonenday and oþer haly-dayes I go raþer to tauerne and ale-hous.
1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance xix. f. 35 That no vitailing house..shoulde..receyue any person, eyther before the sonne risen, or after the sonne sette.
1550 R. Crowley One & Thyrtye Epigrammes sig. Bii In tauerns and tiplyng houses.
1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 220 The Coho house is a house of good fellowship..in the Coho house they also inebriate their braines with Arace and Tobacco.
1668 G. Etherege She wou'd if she Cou'd i. ii. 10 He has engag'd to dine with Mr. Courtall at the French-house.
1773 O. Goldsmith She stoops to Conquer iv. 70 Were you not told to drink freely, and call for what you thought fit, for the good of the house?
1834 T. Medwin Angler in Wales I. 143 It was a great thing for the house.
1873 Punch Feb. 2 You turn to the right, past the ‘Jolly Gardeners’, till you come to the ‘Redham’. Artful Cabby: O, don't tell me the 'ouses, Mum!
1891 Times 12 Sept. 10/3 A tied house..is one..owned by a brewer for the sale of his goods.
1955 J. P. Donleavy Ginger Man (1972) xii. 118 Can't serve you sir, rules of the house, you've had enough to drink.
1999 T. Gilling Sooterkin (2000) 94 The publican sends out three mugs of ale, compliments of the house.
c. A place for public entertainment; (originally) a theatre or playhouse; (later also) a cinema, concert hall, or other venue. Hence: the audience or attendance at this. Also: a (specified) performance, esp. one that closely follows another, as first house, second house, etc.movie, opera, picture, play, playing, etc.: see the first element; cf. also full house n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > [noun]
houseOE
playhouseOE
playing-placea1375
showplace1560
show hall1562
theatre?1577
theatre-house1578
cockpita1616
stage-house1638
show house1674
saloon1747
theatrum1786
spellkenc1800
hippodrome1811
spell1819
show-box1822
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > theatre-going > theatregoer > [noun] > theatre audience
theatre1604
house1663
business1755
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > [noun] > a performance > performance at specific time
morning performance1827
matinee1848
mat1914
first house1930
midnight matinée1952
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > film show > [noun] > first or second house
first house1930
OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1900) II. 56 Se dema..lædde hi syððan to ðam wæferhuse, þær ða deor wunodon, beran and leon, þe hi abitan sceoldon.
OE Aldhelm Glosses (Brussels 1650) in L. Goossens Old Eng. Glosses of MS Brussels, Royal Libr. 1650 (1974) 260 Cęlestis theatri : þæs heofenlican pleghuses.
1589 ‘Marphoreus’ Martins Months Minde sig. F1 The other..for a penie, may haue farre better by oddes at the Theater and Curtaine, and any blind playing house euerie day.
1663 S. Pepys Diary 8 Jan. (1971) IV. 8 The famous new play acted..‘The Adventures of five houres’, at the Duke's house... We..were forced to sit..at the end of one of the lower formes, so full was the house..The house, by its frequent plaudites, did show their sufficient approbacion.
1740 C. Cibber Apol. Life C. Cibber xiv. 268 Acted every day for a month, to constantly crowded houses.
1756 Connoisseur No. 133. ⁋4 He..seldom or never misses appearing at one house or the other, in the green boxes.
1815 W. Irving in Life & Lett. (1864) I. 344 In consequence of acting so often before indifferent houses.
1870 Galaxy July 123/2 Good actors..will set the house on a roar, simply by the infection of their laughter.
1886 Stage Gossip 70 A door..which..prevents the actor being seen by the ‘house’.
1924 in L. Warwick Death of Theatre (1960) vi. 62 The management have long felt that many first-class productions have been spoilt by the rush of two houses.
1930 J. B. Priestley Angel Pavement vii. 358 If I can get two seats for the first house tomorrow night, will you come with me?
1940 H. G. Wells Babes in Darkling Wood ii. i. 137 He might go into some cinema... Or he might get in for the second house at the Holborn or Pavilion?
1992 Metal Edge Mar. 50/3 We played to an empty house but still kicked butt.
2010 N.Y. Post (Nexis) 2 Apr. 43 The Roundabout..‘postponed’ the production—which left a gaping hole at its flagship Broadway house.
d. A bawdy house, brothel.bad, bawdy, bordel, brothel, stew, whorehouse, etc.: see the first element; cf. also house of ill fame, repute, etc., at Phrases 3l.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > prostitution > [noun] > brothel
houseOE
bordelc1300
whorehousec1330
stew1362
bordel housec1384
stewc1384
stivec1386
stew-house1436
bordelryc1450
brothel house1486
shop?1515
bains1541
common house1545
bawdy-house1552
hothouse1556
bordello1581
brothela1591
trugging house1591
trugging place1591
nunnery1593
vaulting-house1596
leaping house1598
Pickt-hatch1598
garden house1606
vaulting-school1606
flesh-shambles1608
whore-sty1621
bagnioa1640
public house1640
harlot-house1641
warrena1649
academy1650
call house1680
coney burrow1691
case1699
nanny-house1699
house of ill reputea1726
smuggling-ken1725
kip1766
Corinth1785
disorderly house1809
flash-house1816
dress house1823
nanny-shop1825
house of tolerance1842
whore shop1843
drum1846
introducing house1846
khazi1846
fast house1848
harlotry1849
maison de tolérance1852
knocking-shop1860
lupanar1864
assignation house1870
parlour house1871
hook shop1889
sporting house1894
meat house1896
massage parlour1906
case house1912
massage establishment1921
moll-shop1923
camp1925
notch house1926
creep joint1928
slaughterhouse1928
maison de convenance1930
cat-house1931
Bovril1936
maison close1939
joy-house1940
rib joint1940
gaff1947
maison de passe1960
rap parlour1973
OE Old Eng. Martyrol. (Julius) 21 Jan. 22 Ðæs burhgerefan sunu wolde ræsan on hi on ðæm scandhuse ond hi bysmrian.
OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 42 Lupanar, myltestrena hus.
OE Aldhelm Glosses (Brussels 1650) in L. Goossens Old Eng. Glosses of MS Brussels, Royal Libr. 1650 (1974) 359 Ad prostibula : to forligerhusum.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Baruch vi. 10 Of it thei ȝeuen to pute in bordel house and ournen hooris.
1436 Petition in Rotuli Parl. (1767–77) IV. 511/1 Ther be comyng other strange persones, and have set up Stywehouses, and houses of Bordell.
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Bawdye house or house of bawdrye..summœnium.
1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Chiauisterio, an occupying house, a bawdy house.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage viii. iv. 627 I haue seene houses as full of such prostitutes, as the schooles in France are full of children.
1749 J. Cleland Mem. Woman of Pleasure I. 70 Every girl of the house fell to him in course, and the old lady only now and then got her turn.
a1827 W. Hickey Mem. (1960) iv. 63 I was informed with vast glee by these wild young men that..they had discovered two new houses of infinite merit.
1851 A. Doten Jrnls. 23 July (1973) I. 92 We..went to some of the houses, saw some of the senoritas.
1931 R. Campbell Georgiad ii. 45 The old ‘Matronas’ of the Southern Race Can run their ‘houses’ with a smiling face.
1962 John o' London's 1 Feb. 115/1 The girls who had worked in ‘houses’ were unfitted, by temperament and training, for any other sort of life.
2004 tr. Illusion of Romance in P. Hanan Chinese Fiction 19th & Early 20th Cent. ii. 47 My mother-in-law set up a house of her own in Qingjiang with a dozen or so girls in it, and when I was twelve she forced me into the same filthy business.
e. A place of business. Hence, in extended use: a business establishment; a company, firm, or institution. With the and (usually) with capital initial (colloquial): the Stock Exchange.auction, banking, clearing, counting, custom, India House, etc.: see the first element.Sometimes with of and the company name.house of business: see business n. Phrases 28f.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > workplace > [noun] > place of business
houseOE
base1858
society > trade and finance > trader > [noun] > trading firm or establishment
houseOE
dealership1916
society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > [noun] > stock exchange > specific
Britain's Burse1570
Exchange Alley1706
house1814
board1837
bourse1845
Throgmorton Street1891
Amex1953
LME1957
LIFFE1982
Nikkei exchange1987
Alternative Investment Market1994
OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: John ii. 16 Nolite facere domum patris mei domum negotiationis : nallað gie g[e]wyrce hus fadores mines hus cæpinces [OE West Saxon Gospels: Corpus Cambr. mangunghuse].
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) John ii. 16 Nyle ȝe make the hous of my fadir an hous of marchaundise [L. negotiationis].
a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) II. 89 (MED) Þe hous of holi chirche shulde not be hous of chaffaring.
1578 G. Best True Disc. Passage to Cathaya i. 17 From the Merchantes house at Saint Nicholas, by the Riuer Duina and Sughana, to the Citie Volugda, is compted seauen hundred English miles.
1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias xvi. 41 Treasurer of the house of the Indias.
1622 G. de Malynes Consuetudo xliii. 218 The houses of Commerce are very necessary... At Antuerp the house of the Easterlings is memorable.
1756 R. Rolt New Dict. Trade House,..particularly applied, in partnerships of trade, to that house where the business is carried on.
1790 J. Beekman Let. 31 Aug. in Beekman Mercantile Papers (1956) III. 1104 Permit us here to wish much Success to your House of Commerce.
1814 Stock-Exchange laid Open 31 Now for the House itself; that is, the Stock Exchange.
1861 M. Pattison in Westm. Rev. Apr. 411 Some of the large German houses in London..advanced large sums.
1888 Cornhill Mag. June 599 A few old-established houses held on as they were, others reduced their establishments and cut down their expenses.
1900 Bankers' Mag. July 36 Of the four brothers now representing the house of Coutts, James and Thomas..are the most celebrated.
1930 Economist 10 May 1060/1 The ‘House’, in short, suffered less from depression than lack of enterprise and inability to see far ahead.
2009 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) July 83/2 The collapse of great banks and financial houses, and the ensuing economic turmoil.
f. A printing or publishing house.Recorded earliest in printing house n. See also publishing house n. at publishing n. Compounds 2. style (or rule) of the house = house style n. at Compounds 10.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > printing trade > [noun] > printing establishment
printing house1553
house?a1563
press1579
printing shop1589
printing office1600
print house1607
printery1638
typography1660
imprimery1663
chapel1688
print shop1845
?a1563 W. Baldwin Beware Cat (1570) sig. A.vv I was lodged in a Chamber harde by the Printing house.
1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) II. 1772 A woman dwellyng in Aldersgate streete..not farre from the house where this present booke was Printed.
1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 10 A Printing-House may admit of a twofold meaning; one..relative to the House or Place wherein Printing is used; the other..only the Printing Tools.
1712 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1889) III. 288 Bibles and Common-Prayers are to be printed at the new House.
1824 J. Johnson Typographia II. iii. 27 Hurrying works through the press..by dividing them among a variety of houses.
1871 Amer. Encycl. Printing 451/2 After a compositor has been at an office for years, where, habituated to the style of the house, he sets up words in type as follows.
1892 A. Oldfield Pract. Man. Typogr. 45 The Rule of the House is sometimes a great bugbear to compositors.
1935 Times Lit. Suppl. 4 Apr. 217/4 Already there obtained something approaching what is now called ‘the style of the house’.
1985 Sunday Mail (Brisbane) 5 May 50/6 Any number of houses are increasingly using that format [sc. trade paperback] to publish experimental novels.
2009 L.A. Weekly (Nexis) 17 Dec. Harlequin, the oldest of the romance houses, won't commit to gay romances on paper.
g. An establishment where gambling takes place, a casino; (with the) the management of such an establishment (against which bets are placed).betting-, gambling-house, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to status > [noun] > manager > collectively
management1740
house1776
senior management1882
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > [noun] > places for gambling
dicing-house1549
carding house1550
gaming house1562
dicing-chamber1571
tabling house1576
game house?1577
macaroni1771
gambling house1772
gambling school1773
gambling club1774
spill-house1778
gambling hall?1781
gambling den1792
gambling booth1804
hell1812
gambling hell1818
Crockford1827
silver hell1835
deadfall1837
casino1851
house1855
tripot1864
skin house1871
bucket-shop1875
gambling joint1885
salle1886
tabling den1886
spoofery1895
salle de jeu1901
strong joint1914
kitchen1924
salle privée1930
spieler1931
1776 Earl of Carlisle Let. in J. H. Jesse G. Selwyn & his Contemp. (1844) III. 136 I never lost so much in five times as I have done to-night, and am in debt to the house for the whole.
1824 Gambler's Scourge in Fatal Effects of Gambling 448 By the rules of the house, the players might stake any sum from 5s. to 100l.
1855 B. L. Ball Rambles in E. Asia 108 The streets are exceedingly narrow, crooked and dark, and we passed several houses of gamblers.
1907 Los Angeles Times 29 July 14/3 The profit evidently comes from the sale of liquor and from the ‘rake-off’ taken by the house on the games.
1954 W. R. Simpson & F. K. Simpson Hockshop 275 Dice and cards and roulette wheels..gave the house an unfair advantage.
2005 Independent 12 Mar. (Mag.) 24/2 The roulette wheel consists of the numbers 1 to 36, alternately coloured red and black, plus 0 (and in US casinos 00) which are green—the zeros give the house its edge.
h. With the, and often with capital initial. A euphemism for: the workhouse. colloquial. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > institutional homes > [noun] > for the poor, infirm, etc. > workhouse
working-house1597
workhouse1631
house of industry1679
spin-house1702
parish house1709
poorhouse1727
poorshouse1732
house?1825
union workhouse1830
union house1835
pauper asylum1837
great house1838
union1839
big house1851
spiniken1859
spike1866
lump1874
?1825 C. D. Brereton Inq. Workhouse Syst. Agric. Districts iv. 101 Henry, the father of the family, is still in the house with his wife. I have made many efforts for the last ten years to get him out.
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. I. 3 I suppose you must have an order into the house.
1840 F. Trollope Michael Armstrong I. iv. 100 Not the quarter of a farthing, unless you'll come into the house.
1888 Mrs. H. Ward Robert Elsmere II. iii. xix. 140 If they turn us out..there'll be nothing left but the House for us old 'uns.
1913 H. W. Nevinson Ess. Rebellion (new ed.) xvii. 82 The Guardians will undertake to relieve you of two children... Send the two eldest to the House at once.
2014 S. Fowler Workhouse ii. 28 Relief was to be denied to any destitute villager who refused to enter the ‘house’.
i. A shop or business that designs and sells high quality fashionable clothes; a fashion house.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > tailoring or making clothes > dressmaking > [noun] > fashionable dressmaking > establishment
house1844
1844 J. F. Watson Ann. Philadelphia & Pennsylvania (new ed.) II. 149 The first hotel there was the house of Conrad Weisser, seen in 1829..and since replaced by a great new house of fashion.
1864 2nd Rep. Children's Employment Comm. 39 in Parl. Papers xxii. 1 At some houses all in the show-room are expected to wear black glacé silk.
1880 in L. de Vries Victorian Advts. (1968) Messrs. Jay import from the first houses in Paris Models of every style.
1931 S. Jameson Richer Dust v. 145 I have good taste. I could think of dresses. I should have to go round the various houses.
1967 Guardian 24 July 4/6 Instead of showing their collections four weeks after the other houses, Givenchy and Balenciaga..show on August 3.
2007 Hello! 17 July 122 The designer's [sc. Lagerfeld's] 50th couture show for the house [of Chanel].
5.
a. The building in which a (national or state) legislative or deliberative assembly meets. Hence: the assembly itself; a parliament, congress, etc.; (also) a quorum of such an assembly. Also with modifying word. Cf. to make a House at make v.1 17b, to keep a House at Phrases 4e.Sometimes (with or without capital initial) short for the full title of the assembly referred to (as House of Commons at commons n. Phrases 5, House of Lords at lord n. 11b, House of Representatives at representative n. 1b, etc.). See also houses of parliament n. at Phrases 3h.parliament, senate-house, etc.: see the first element; cf. also lower house n., upper house n. at upper adj. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > [noun] > a chamber or house of
houseOE
chamber1422
OE Harley Gloss. (1966) 116 Curia, .i. domus consilii, conuentus, gemothus uel stow, congregatio.
OE Antwerp Gloss. (1955) 237 Curia uel senatus, uþwitena spræchus.
OE Ælfric Old Test. Summary: Judges (Laud) Epil., in S. J. Crawford Old Eng. Version of Heptateuch (1922) 415 Þa senatores, ðæt synd þeodwitan, þe dæghwamlice smeadon on anum sindrian huse embe ealles folces þearfe.
1427–8 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. Oct. 1427 §25. m. 5 Affermyng also þat ye ne wolde in eny wyse come in to þe house accustumed for the kyng and þe lordes in parlement.
1467–8 Rolls of Parl.: Edward IV (Electronic ed.) Parl. June 1467 §42. m. 40 The .xx. day of May..at Westm', into the house accustumed for the commens of the londe.
1559 in J. Strype Ann. Reformation (1824) I. App. vi. 399 What fourther authorite can this howse give unto her highness, then she hath already?
a1577 Sir T. Smith in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) III. v. 55 Do you remember then the motion of the Speaker and the request of the Commons' house?
1624 in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times James I (1849) (modernized text) II. 450 Sir Edward Coke is of the house.
1641 Naunton's Fragmenta Regalia sig. D2 Sir Henry Noris, whom she had called up at Parliament, to sit with the Peeres in the higher House, as Henry Norris of Rycot.
1648 R. Herrick Hesperides sig. Aa4v As when the disagreeing Commons throw About their House, their clamorous I, or No.
1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. iv. 237 A Worse Accident than all these, which fell out..about the time of the two Houses reconvening.
1741 C. Middleton Hist. Life Cicero I. vi. 485 Cicero..made the petition so ridiculous that the house rejected it.
1775 J. Adams in J. Adams & A. Adams Familiar Lett. (1876) 99 There had not been members enough to make a House, several colonies being absent.
1845 B. Disraeli Sybil II. iv. i. 145 ‘Are you going down to the house, Egerton?’ inquired Mr. Berners at Brookes' of a brother M.P.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. I. v. 60 It often happens that one party has a majority in the Senate, another party in the House, and then..a deadlock results.
1909 H. E. S. Fremantle New Nation 38 A representative Select Committee of the Cape House of Assembly unanimously agreed to insert clauses [etc.].
1976 Times 21 May 4/3 Mr. Callaghan would go to the conference knowing the views of the House on the proposals.
2002 India Weekly 26 Apr. 27/1 Sayeed's decision came as the house assembled at 11am after six days of parliamentary paralysis.
b. The building in which a deliberative assembly not of a nation or state meets; spec. the assembly of a guild or municipal corporation; any of the assemblies of the convocation of an ecclesiastical province; the convocation and congregation of a university, etc. Hence: the assembly itself. Also with modifying word.congregation-, Convocation-, council-house, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > [noun]
mootOE
councilc1275
mootingc1275
dayc1300
assembly1366
consistoryc1374
house1389
parliamentc1390
convention1554
synodal1573
synod1578
synedrion1581
convenement1603
gemot1643
consessus1646
legislative council1651
national assembly1702
council-general1817
concilium1834
runanga1857
1389 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 54 (MED) Qwo-so entrez in-to thys fraternite, ne xal paye ye rytes of ye hows, at his entre, viij d.
c1477 in H. Anstey Epistolae Academicae Oxon. (1898) II. 427 (MED) Wrytyn yn the house of your congregacion the xv day of novembre.
1553 J. Bale Vocacyon f. 45 Whils this priapustick prelate, is prolocutour in the conuocacion howse, I trust we shall lacke no good lawes for religion.
1562 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxf. (1880) 293 At the same Counseyll yt is ordered that Thomas Furres..be dismyssed this howse [sc. City Corporation].
1666 A. Wood Life & Times (1892) II. 90 The maior, baillive[s], and some of the house after him.
1705 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. 31 Oct. (O.H.S.) I. 61 There was a full House [of Convocation].
1831 W. Hamilton in Edinb. Rev. June 388 In Oxford the regents formed the House of Congregation..through which it behoved that every measure should pass before it could be submitted to the House of Convocation.
1871 G. R. Cutting Student Life Amherst 93 In the summer term of 1828, a legislative body was formed in college, known as the ‘House of Students’. Its object was to enact such laws..as the good of a college community would seem to require.
1910 Encycl. Brit. V. 928/1 The ‘Ancient House of Congregation’, in whom lies the granting and conferring of degrees, consisting of the vice-chancellor, proctors, [etc.].
1963 Times 8 Nov. 8/5 This scheme..provides for the formation of a General Synod for the Church of England by the union of the two convocations with the addition of a House of Laity.
2006 St James' Parish Mag. (Blackburn) Apr. 7 Members of the House of Clergy are elected by clergy in their deaneries.
6. A building or other structure for the rearing or keeping of animals or plants, or for the storing of goods, products, etc. Frequently with modifying word.cowhouse, dovehouse, greenhouse, henhouse, hothouse, outhouse, monkey house, palm house, orchid house, reptile house, storehouse, warehouse, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > animal enclosure or house general > [noun] > animal house
houseOE
stablec1250
standing?1440
helm1501
barth1570
stablet1585
hive1653
barn1770
animal shelter1891
the mind > possession > supply > storage > [noun] > place where anything is or may be stored > storehouse
houseOE
storehouse1348
penuary1607
store1667
deposit-house1797
supply house1864
garnerage1880
the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > equipment and buildings > [noun] > greenhouse or glass-house
glasshousea1633
greenhouse1664
house1726
winter garden1736
plant house1800
serre1819
glass1838
tunnel house1973
OE Antwerp Gloss. (1955) 239 Pomarium.., æppelhus.
OE Antwerp Gloss. (1955) 239 Caprile, gata hus.
1414 Petition in Rotuli Parl. (1767–77) IV. 60/2 A Shepecote..or a Swynesty, and a fewe houses byside to putte in Bestes.
1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Surueyeng xx. f. 35v An oxe house, a hey house.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 13 Next are houses for my sheepe, and next them for Kine, Calues, & Heyfers.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) i. vii. 24 So..Doues with noysome stench, Are from their..Houses driuen away. View more context for this quotation
1669 W. Simpson Hydrologia Chymica 216 Garden houses built at convenient distances.
1670 J. Smith England's Improvem. Reviv'd 190 Houses for keeping Pheasants, Partidges, and other Fowl.
1726 W. R. Chetwood Voy. & Adventures Capt. R. Boyle 28 A little House, meant for a Green-house.
1776 T. Blaikie Diary Sc. Gardener (1931) 109 A house might be contrived..[having] underflues in the pit covered with sand to plunge the plants.
1882 Trans. Highland & Agric. Soc. 14 146 Along the north wall are erected a row of twenty houses..or pens, the roofing of which is made by fixing timber [etc.].
1896 Mrs. H. Ward Sir George Tressady xii. 244 He asked whether she would like to see his ‘houses’ and the rose-garden.
1906 Westm. Gaz. 30 Apr. 4/3 A nice example of Geoffroy's Cat may now be seen in the Small Mammals' House at the Zoo.
1913 L. C. Corbett Garden Farming ix. 369 The tubers stored in these houses are carefully assorted and sacked.
1980 K. Thear in K. Thear & A. Fraser Small Farmer's Guide to Raising Livestock & Poultry (U.S. ed.) ii. 42/2 A house for about ten layers or breeders is installed.
2001 Guardian 3 Nov. (Weekend Suppl.) 103/2 Other orchids that grow inside (as opposed to in a specialist mist house) include the tiger orchid..and the slipper orchid.
7. The place of habitation of a group or community.
a. The place of abode of a religious community; an abbey, monastery, convent, etc.; = religious house n. at religious adj. and n. Compounds 2. Also: the community which occupies it.See also house of religion at religion n. Phrases 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > artefacts > monastic property (general) > monastery or convent > [noun]
minstereOE
monklifeeOE
clausterc1000
abbotricOE
house?a1160
anchor-house?c1225
religion?c1225
abbeyc1300
nunneryc1300
house (also abbey) of religiona1325
nunryc1325
closterc1330
cloister1340
monasterya1425
monk-house?c1475
friars1479
convent1528
guild1546
prioressy1575
abbey-stead1620
minchery1710
reclusory1821
akhara1838
house of piety1838
kloster1844
?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1137 Martin abbot..heold mycel carited in the hus.
c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 213 Nawt..ne wite ȝe in ower hus of oðer monne þinges.
1395 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 6 (MED) To do make a vestiment..to the cops of the hows of Crischerche wher my body schal ligge.
a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 6692 Houses that han proprete As templers and hospitelers And as these chanouns regulers.
1492 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 73 Item I bequethe to euery hows of ffryeres in Cambredge, Lynne, Norwiche, Thetford, Clare, Sudbury, to eche of thes howses vjs. viijd.
1556 in J. G. Nichols Chron. Grey Friars (1852) 32 One of that owse John Forrest was comandyd to preche at Powlles crosse the sonday after.
1631 J. Weever Anc. Funerall Monuments 813 A famous religious house of Carmelite Friers.
1796 V. Green Hist. & Antiq. Worcester I. vii. 157 His [sc. King John's] bowels were taken out, and buried at Croxton Abbey, a house of monks of the order called Premonstratensis.
1871 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1876) IV. xviii. 312 The minster of Saint Werburh, then a secular, but soon to become a monastic, house.
1960 N. R. Ker Eng. MSS after Norman Conquest 33 We have enough manuscripts..from Bury St. Edmunds, Worcester, and perhaps a few other houses to approach them hopefully.
2000 C. Peyroux in L. K. Little et al. Monks & Nuns viii. 181 Radegund, the Thuringian princess who had rejected her royal marriage to found a house of nuns at Poitiers.
b. A college or hall of residence at a university or similar institution (originally Oxford or Cambridge). Also: the fellows and students that belong to it collectively. Now chiefly in the names of such institutions and in head of house n. 1. (Cf. hall n.1 4.) the House: a familiar name for Christ Church, Oxford. Peterhouse: a familiar name for St Peter's College, Cambridge.fraternity house, sorority house: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > place of education > college or university > [noun] > university > college of
house1527
women's college1867
1527 J. Ashwell in G. Joye Lett. Ashwel to Lyncolne (?1531) sig. A.iii He was ever at Cambrig in Peter house.
1553 T. Wilson Arte Rhetorique (1580) 166 When I was in Cambrige, and a student in the kynges College..the Provost of that house [etc.].
1642–6 in J. Quincy Hist. Harvard Univ. (1840) I. 517 If any scholar shall transgress any of the laws of God, or the House..after twice admonition, he shall be liable..to correction.
1748 J. Belcher in J. Maclean Hist. Coll. N. Jersey (1877) I. 147 If, finally, money cannot be raised for the House..the thing must be given up.
1785 V. Knox Liberal Educ. (ed. 7) II. xlvi. 185 Many of those houses which the piety and charity of founders consecrated to..learning..are become the seats of ignorance.
1840 J. Heywood Coll. Statutes for Univ. & Colleges Cambr. p. vi For the government and salutary regulation of the colleges, halls, or houses of the University.
1868 Oxf. Spectator (1869) 102 While their dwelling is called Christ Church by strangers, by others it is called the House.
1897 Nidologist Apr. 92/2 The Northern Division..met at the Delta Upsilon Fraternity House, Stanford.
1900 D. C. Tovey in T. Gray Lett. I. 3 (note) Birkett was the tutor under whom Gray was admitted a Pensioner at Peterhouse.
1936 G. K. Chesterton Autobiogr. 116 My friends had just come down from Oxford, Bentley from Merton and Oldershaw from ‘the House’.
2007 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 7 Jan. iva. 17/2 (caption) Each spring, residents of Mather House at Harvard set up a rented foam machine in the dining hall.
c. A residential building for pupils at a boarding school (originally a boys' public school); the residents of this collectively. In later use also: each of a number of groups into which pupils at a day school are divided for games or competitions (chiefly British and in some former British dependencies).
ΘΚΠ
society > education > place of education > educational buildings > [noun] > school > boarding house
house1821
Tuggery1864
society > education > learning > learner > one attending school > [noun] > division of pupils > house
schoolhouse1842
house1856
1821 Etonian 2 304/2 To be sure we were not locked up in our house till half an hour later than usual that night.
1856 J. A. Symonds Let. June (1967) I. 73 I had them sent to the Head of the House who flogged two.
1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days i. vi. 136 I'm as proud of the house as any one. I believe it's the best house in the school, out-and-out.
1891 Pall Mall Gaz. 6 Oct. 2/3 The real unit in most of the large public schools is the ‘house’.
1925 City of Oxf. School Mag. Mar. 8 Kerry House hold the new cup for the winning House for the first year.
1988 K. E. McCrone Playing Game iii. 72 Seniors..described her as..providing students, particularly those in her house, with a powerful athletic role model.
2006 Daily Tel. 10 Mar. 5/6 Jane Grant..will take over the all-boys school's most illustrious house.
†8. Apparently: a receptacle. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > [noun]
receivera1398
resetc1400
receipta1425
receptaclec1425
repository1485
receptorya1500
pot1503
container?1504
hold1517
containing?1541
continent?1541
receptable1566
nest1589
conceptacle1611
keep1617
house1625
reception1646
inholder1660
conceptaculum1691
penholder1815
holder1833
carrier1855
compactum1907
1625 T. Godwin Moses & Aaron i. x. 53 They did put them [sc. the four sections of the law] into one skinne [sc. parchment] in which there was the proportion of foure housen or receptacles, and not into foure skinnes.
II. Extended uses.
9. figurative and in figurative contexts (chiefly poetic and literary). A place of abode or rest; somewhere where some (immaterial) thing is nurtured or resides.In quot. OE applied to the body as the abode of the soul.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > [noun]
resteOE
worthineeOE
settlea900
wickc900
houseOE
erdinga1000
teld-stedec1000
wonningc1000
innOE
bewistc1200
setnessc1200
wanea1225
i-holda1250
wonec1275
wunselec1275
wonning-place1303
bigginga1325
wonning-stede1338
tabernaclea1340
siegec1374
dwelling-placec1380
lodgingc1380
seea1382
tabernaclea1382
habitationc1384
mansionc1385
arresta1400
bowerc1400
wonning-wanec1400
lengingc1420
tenementc1425
tentc1430
abiding placea1450
mansion place1473
domicile1477
lendingc1480
inhabitance1482
biding-place?1520
seat1535
abode1549
remainingc1550
soil1555
household1585
mansion-seata1586
residing1587
habitance1590
fixation1614
situation?1615
commoratorya1641
haft1785
location1795
fanea1839
inhabitancy1853
habitat1854
occupancy1864
nivas1914
downsetting1927
OE Cynewulf Elene 1236 Þus ic frod ond fus þurh þæt fæcne hus wordcræft wæf [perh. read wordcræfte wæf or wordcræft awæf] ond wundrum læs, þragum þreodude ond geþanc reodode nihtes nearwe.
c1200 (?OE) Grave (1890) l. 13 Dureleas is þet hus.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 16052 Þe pape hatte Sergius he weteð Peteres. hus.
a1350 in K. Böddeker Altengl. Dichtungen (1878) 203 For sunful folk, suete iesus, Þou lihtest from þe heȝe hous.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Job xxx. 23 For thou shalt take me to deth, wher is sett an hous to alle liuende.
c1460 Tree & 12 Frutes (McClean) (1960) 158 I shal yif..to my chast seruauntes a place and a name in myn hous of heuen.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) iii. iii. sig. Kk7v The house of Death had so many doores, as she would easilie flie into it.
1598 B. Jonson Euery Man in his Humor ii. i Like a pestilence, it doth infect The houses of the brain.
a1682 Sir T. Browne Christian Morals (1716) i. 1 The Hill and asperous way, which leadeth unto the House of Sanity.
a1711 T. Ken Edmund viii, in Wks. (1721) II. 213 He..In Wisdom's House relearn'd all sacred Truth.
1815 W. Scott Lord of Isles iv. iv. 132 The peaceful house of death.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam xxxv. 54 If some voice that man could trust Should murmur from the narrow house . View more context for this quotation
1917 L. M. Montgomery (title) Anne's house of dreams.
1998 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 13 Aug. 43/1 Suharto,..the father of economic development who watched his house of patronage crumble.
10.
a. The inhabitants and affairs of a house; the occupants of a house collectively, esp. (in early use) a family and its retainers; = household n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabitant > inhabitant by type of accommodation > [noun] > inhabitant of house
houseeOE
inmate1609
house-dweller1649
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinship group > family > [noun] > family or household
hirdc888
houseeOE
hewenc1000
houseshipOE
hinehedea1300
meiniec1300
ménagec1325
householda1382
family1452
fam1579
private family1598
fireside1686
family circle1768
family unit1860
mainpast1865
familia1869
home1876
aiga1895
ohana1926
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabitant > inhabitant by type of accommodation > [noun] > inhabitant of house > household
hirdc888
houseeOE
houseshipOE
hinehedea1300
meiniec1300
ménagec1325
householda1382
family1452
fireside1686
mainpast1865
eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) vi. xxiii. 144 Him wæs ungemetlic moncwealm getenge, þæt nan hus næs binnan þære byrige [read byrig] þæt hit næfde þære wrace angolden.
OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: John iv. 53 Credidit ipse et domus eius tota : gelefde ðeilca & hus his all [OE West Saxon Gospels: Corpus Cambr. eall his hiwræden].
c1225 (?c1200) Hali Meiðhad (Bodl.) (1940) l. 5 (MED) Forȝet ti folc & tines feader hus.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 53 (MED) Þe pors..þet is lheuedi and hotestre of þe house.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Deeds xvi. 33 He is baptysid, and al his hous anoon.
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Squire's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 16 In armes desirous As any Bachiler of al his hous.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Kings xvii. 15 He ate, & she also, and hir house a certayne season.
1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet iii. iii. 155 Comfort thy Mistresse, haste the house to bed. View more context for this quotation
1620 T. Shelton tr. M. de Cervantes 2nd Pt. Don Quixote xlviii. 317 A Squire of the house fell in loue with me, somewhat an elderly man.
1745 J. Swift Direct. to Servants 37 You can junket together at Nights upon your own Progue, when the rest of the House are abed.
1768 S. Johnson Lett. to Mrs. Thrale 23 May, I count the friendship of your house among the felicities of life.
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian viii, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. II. 232 By no possibility whatever, would he be an ocular witness of the shame of his house.
1857 J. G. Holland Bay-path iii. 36 Her special duties pertained to the good ordering of the house, the economical administration of the kitchen.
1953 A. Hosain Phoenix Fled 100 You wail and wake the house as if you were being murdered, and for what?
1987 A. Perry Cardington Crescent (1991) iv. 71 Call the doctor—discreetly, of course. There is no need to put the house in an uproar.
2005 D. McWilliams Pope's Children xx. 238 Gerry had to catch the red-eye to London at 6.45 so the whole house was up looking for his suit carrier.
b. A family including ancestors and descendants; a lineage, esp. a noble, royal, or wealthy dynasty having continuity of residence in a particular place.In early examples chiefly in biblical use: a group of people descended from a common ancestor, a race. house of Israel: the Jewish or Hebrew nation or people.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinship group > stock, race, or family > [noun]
kinc825
strindc900
maegtheOE
i-cundeeOE
birdeOE
houseOE
kindOE
kindreda1225
bloodc1300
strainc1330
lineage?a1366
generationa1382
progenya1382
stock1382
nationc1395
tribec1400
ligneea1450
lifec1450
family1474
prosapy?a1475
parentage1490
stirpc1503
pedigree1532
racea1547
stem?c1550
breed1596
progenies1673
familia1842
uji1876
OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xv. 24 Ne eom ic asend buton to þam sceapum þe forwurdon of Israhela huse [L. domus Israel].
OE Paris Psalter (1932) cxiii. 21 Þu gebletsudest bearn Israheles, Aarones hus eac gebletsadest [L. benedixit domui Aaron].
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 593 Tatt tatt swa wass hæfedd hird. Þatt hird wass i þatt time. Nemmnedd eleazaress hus. Eleazaress hewenn.
c1350 Psalter (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) cxiii. 10 (MED) Þe hous of Aaron [L. domus Aaron] hoped in our Lord.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke ii. 4 Josep..was of the hous and meyne of Dauith [L. de domo et familia David].
c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 35 Þei are mad in þe house of Israel in to offens of wickidnesse.
1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 70 Honour & worship to me and of our house.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxiii The Duke of Burgoin loued better the house of Lancastre, then the house of Yorke.
1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet iii. i. 106 A poxe of your houses . View more context for this quotation
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary iii. 263 Subject to the house of Austria.
1686 F. Spence (title) Anecdotes of Florence, or the secret history of the house of Medicis.
1789 W. Belsham Ess. I. iii. 51 The right of blood clearly rested in the house of Stuart.
1794 R. McCulloch Lect. Prophecies Isaiah II. 46 The house of Israel may denote..the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, with those of the other ten tribes, who were mingled with them.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. v. 629 Not far off sleep two chiefs of the great house of Howard.
1872 J. Ruskin Eagle's Nest §171 To read the shields, and remember the stories, of the great houses of England.
1903 Jewish Encycl. V. 406/2 An early branch of the imperial Flavian house was at one time inclined toward..Christianity.
1955 N. Mitford in Encounter 5 4/1 There is nothing so rare as for the scion of a noble house to make a fortune by his own efforts.
2002 Daily Mirror 31 May 15/1 A mish-mash of republican twaddle..seriously suggesting that we'd had enough of the House of Windsor.
11. Astrology. Each of twelve parts of the ecliptic or the zodiac having some particular significance in human affairs, typically formed by great circles through diametrically opposed points and numbered eastwards from the ascendant (ascendant n. 1). Also: a sign of the zodiac considered as a seat of greater influence of a particular planet; a ruler (ruler n.1 2b). Cf. mansion n. 4.In a nativity, for example, the first house might relate to the future life of the subject, the second to business, the third to brothers, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > celestial sphere > zone of celestial sphere > [noun] > Zodiac > house
towerc1374
housea1393
mansionc1395
anglea1398
harbourc1405
palacec1425
cardinal point1585
synod house1589
dodecatemory1603
the world > the universe > celestial sphere > zone of celestial sphere > [noun] > Zodiac > sign of zodiac > as seat of planet
housea1393
mansionc1395
termc1405
the world > the universe > heavenly body > as influence on mankind > [noun] > influence > planet as > situation of > house
towerc1374
housea1393
mansionc1395
palacec1425
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 991 (MED) Aries..is the receipte and the hous Of myhty Mars the bataillous.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. viii. ix. 461 Among þise triplicitees of houses þilke þat beþ in þe est beþ strengere in here worchinge.
c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §4. 18 The hows of the assendent, þat is to seyn, the firste hous or the est Angle, is a thing more brod & large.
1477 Earl Rivers tr. Dictes or Sayengis Philosophhres (Caxton) (1877) lf. 5v Whan the planetes entre in to their houses.
1579 T. Lupton Thousand Notable Things ix. 236 Marke what Planet is ruler of the twelft house.
1594 T. Blundeville Exercises iv. xxxvi. f. 232v A generall figure of the 12. houses of Heauen, according to the Iudicial of Astrology.
a1640 P. Massinger City-Madam (1658) ii. ii. 59 Venus in the West-angle, the house of marriage the seventh house, in Trine of Mars, in Conjunction of Luna.
1695 W. Congreve Love for Love ii. i. 21 This is the effect of the malicious Conjunctions and Oppositions in the Third House of my Nativity.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Angle The Horoscope of the first House is termed the Angle of the East.
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering I. iv. 54 He..erected his scheme, or figure of heaven, divided into its twelve houses..and rectified their position to the hour and moment of the nativity.
1897 Zadkiel's Almanac 57 When Saturn and Uranus are in the first house.
1926 H. E. Sampson Twelve Houses Zodiac iii. 36 Aries is the House of the Zodiac in which the creative and preservative forces are supplied to..the ‘head’.
a1963 L. MacNiece Astrol. (1964) i. 22 Astrologers use several different systems of houses, but whatever the system the houses (unlike the signs) stay put.
1991 C. Mansall Discover Astrol. iv. 45/2 The whole quality surrounding this house will be amended by the quality of its ruling planet, Mercury.
2005 Mountain Astrologer Feb. 71/3 The placement of Mars in any of these houses is supposed to cause difficulty in marriage.
12.
†a. Chess. Each of the squares on a chessboard. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > board game > chess > [noun] > chessboard > square
pointc1450
house1562
lodging1562
place1562
step1562
square1611
chequer1801
1562 tr. Damiano da Odemira Pleasaunt Playe of Cheasts sig. B 1 Beholde here the forme of the Checker or Cheastbourde, and how the Cheastmen ought to be placed in euery house [Fr. maison; It. casa].
1614 A. Saul Famous Game Chesse-play xi. sig. C5v The blacke King for his second draught shall play his Knights Pawn into the fourth house.
1799 P. Pratt Theory of Chess i. 2 The white king is to be seated on the first or nearest rank, on the fourth house (a black one).
1852 Jrnl. Royal Asiatic Soc. 13 40 Take the number of the houses (or squares) of chess, which are eight in a row.
1912 W. Fiske Chess Tales 353 Near the commencement of this period the convenient..practise of making the squares or houses of the chessboard of two different colors came into vogue.
b. Curling. The target area formed by the outermost circle drawn round the tee (tee n.3).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > winter sports > curling > [noun] > area of ice > space round mark
cockee1789
parish1872
house1883
1883 J. Macnair Channel-Stane 1st Ser. 50 The stone draws past everything save the winner, which is knocked clear of the house.
1897 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport I. 257/2 All leading stones should be thus concaved, that they may be able to keep their position in the ‘house’.
1914 J. G. Grant Compl. Curler ii. vii. 91 The space within the 7-foot ring is colloquially known as the ‘house’ (Scotice, ‘hoose’), or sometimes ‘parish’.
1969 R. Welsh Beginner's Guide Curling xii. 89 A player will strike out the shot and his own stone will also roll out, leaving an empty house.
2008 B. Weeks Curling, Etcetera 46 Can you name two occasions when, at the conclusion of an end, there are rocks in the house but no team scores?
13. Zoology. A complex gelatinous envelope secreted by larvacean tunicates, which is regularly discarded and reformed and serves to filter food particles from the surrounding water.
ΚΠ
1851 T. H. Huxley in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 141 598 Still less am I able to give any explanation of the extraordinary envelope or ‘House’ to which, according to Mertens, each Appendicularia is attached in its normal condition.
1888 G. Rolleston & W. H. Jackson Forms Animal Life (ed. 2) 441 The cells of the anterior region of the body in Larvacea are large, and secrete a hyaline gelatinous and sticky substance, which forms the so-called ‘house’.
1920 H. H. Newman Vertebr. Zoöl. ii. 59 (caption) An individual belonging to the class Larvacea (Oikopleura) in its gelatinous ‘house’.
2001 BBC Wildlife Sept. 53/2 Larvaceans, neotenic pelagic sea squirts which repeatedly build their own jelly houses.
14. Lotto, tombola, or (now usually) bingo, esp. as played for money (originally in the Army). Hence also applied to the organizer of the game, a winning card in which all the numbers have been successfully marked off, or the prize given for this. Now chiefly as interjection (see B. 2). Cf. housey-housey n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > bingo or lotto > [noun]
lotto1778
keno1814
house1900
housey-housey1916
bingo1936
hoy1965
1900 Strand Mag. Apr. 419/2 When they were not drilling they were playing ‘House’.
1917 A. G. Empey From Fire Step 125 The two most popular games are ‘Crown and Anchor’ and ‘House’.
1933 L. A. G. Strong Sea Wall 256 A game of ‘house’ was in progress, and a voice monotonously droned the numbers:..‘clickety click’.
1951 Amer. Speech 26 99/1 The man who runs the game is spoken of as the ‘house’.
1973 Guardian 12 June 20 They were in a crooked [Bingo] game... Certain cards were stacked for a quick House against others which were..distinct long-shots.
1993 I. Welsh Trainspotting (1994) 205 Ah should have hud a house, but ah didnae want tae speak, tae draw any attention tae masel whatsoever.
2004 C. Murray Seán O'Casey vii. 128 As..plays..failed to pay expenses a different idea was tried:..the game of House, or what we should call Bingo.
B. int.
1. An exclamation used to summon the landlord or waiter of a public house. Now rare (archaic and historical in later use).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > serving food > [interjection] > call to summon waiter
house1671
1671 J. Crowne Juliana v. 48 'Twas here they came; this was the house I'm sure: ho, ho, the house! Enter Landlord beating his Servant.
1696 T. Dogget Country Wake v. i House! house! (beating on the Table). What, are you all dead here? house!
1773 C. Dibdin Deserter ii. i. 20 Ho, ho, house! here, house! we'll have a glass together; as we never saw one another before.
a1868 S. Lover Dramatic Wks. (1902) 193 (stage direct.) MacCarthy rings hand-bell, and calls ‘House’ ‘Waiter’ etc.
1876 R. Rowe Tower on Tor xviii. 103 He plunged..into the forest, shouting ‘House!’ as if he thought that taverns grew in lonely woods like mushrooms.
2006 M. Elphinstone Light (2007) ii. 12 Someone was shouting from the hall, ‘House! House I say! Is anyone there?’
2. A call by a player in the game of ‘house’ (see sense A. 14) or bingo, indicating possession of a winning card in which all the numbers have been successfully marked off. Cf. bingo int.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > bingo or lotto > [noun] > winning
house1917
1917 A. G. Empey Over Top xix. 147 The one who covers the fifteen numbers on his card first shouts ‘House’.
1918 R. D. Holmes Yankee in Trenches v. 60 If you get all your numbers covered, you call out ‘house’, winning the pot.
1980 J. Blunt More Stage Dialects‎ 47 You get a card with fifteen figures on it in three lines of five, you see, and you play for a line... When you've won, you shout ‘House!’
2004 Guardian 25 May ii. 4/1 The term ‘bingo wings’..originates in the bingo-hall custom of raising one's arm aloft and bellowing ‘House!’

Phrases

P1. Proverbial, allusive, and idiomatic phrases and expressions.
a.
(a) a house divided (against itself) cannot stand and variants: a body of people weakened by internal dissensions will not remain united. [With allusion to Matthew 12:25 and Mark 3:25.]
ΚΠ
OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. xii. 25 Omnis ciuitas uel domus diuisa contra se non stabit : eghuelc burug uel hus todæled uel tosliten wið him ne stondas [OE West Saxon Gospels (Corpus Cambr.) ælc ceaster oððe hus þe byð wiþerweard ongen hyt sylf hyt ne stent].]
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Matt. xii. C Euery kyngdome deuyded within it self, shalbe desolate: and euery cite or house deuyded in it selfe, maye not contynue.
1538 Bible (Coverdale) Mark iii. C Yf a kyngdome shalbe diuided wythin it selfe, that same kyngdome can not stande: And yf a house be diuided upon it selfe, yt same house can not stande.
1653 S. Chidley Remonstr. to Creditors of Common-wealth Eng. (single sheet) I have in my progresse seen a dissolution of a Golden Parliament,..But a house divided against it self cannot stand.
1709 A. Whitro Warnings of Eternal Spirit 250 Take care you do not mix Vice with Virtue; for a House divided cannot stand.
1821 Evangelical Mag. & Missionary Chron. Jan. 31/1 A house divided cannot stand, And peace and safety fly the land Where endless discord grows.
1858 A. Lincoln Speech 16 June in J. R. Fornieri Lang. of Liberty (2009) ii. 224 ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.
1968 Los Angeles Sentinel 20 June a7 It is now time that America and Americans turn inwardly to correct the corruption that plagues this great nation. For a house divided will not stand.
2009 T. Cole-Whittaker Live your Bliss i. 9 A house divided cannot stand, and in war ‘divide and conquer’ has always been a successful weapon.
(b) to be a house divided (against itself): to be characterized by internal conflict or dissension (usually with the implication of resultant weakness, failure, etc.).
ΚΠ
1594 T. Nashe Vnfortunate Traveller sig. O2 This murder is a house deuided within it selfe: it subornes a mans owne soule to informe against him.
1786 in J. Curry Hist. & Crit. Rev. Civil Wars Ireland (new ed.) Pref. p. xxi Let us inquire into the causes why it is politic for Ireland to be divided: why it is moral to prevent population: how there is security in a house divided against itself.
1834 Shepherd 15 Nov. 89/2 The old man is twofold; he is a house divided; he is the two extremes in a state of opposition.
1870 Edinb. Med. Jrnl. 15 ii. 660 An os refusing to expand, is about one of the most distressing complications in mid-wifery. It is a house divided against itself, a perilous antagonism.
1921 Psyche & Eros 2 No. 1 30 What ails the psycho-neurotic is that he is a dis-synchronised personality. He is at once infant and adult... He is a house divided against itself.
1958 Bull. Atomic Scientists Oct. 286/2 The world is still where it was before—a house divided, with nations jealously maintaining their capacity for mutual destruction.
1989 J. Silva & R. B. Stone You Healer 196 This is a house divided against itself, with the left brain ‘editing’ the right brain and screening out most of its input.
2001 J. W. Doig Empire on Hudson iii. 59 The project was widely supported by city and state interests, although the fervid opposition from Queens served as a reminder that New York City was a house divided.
b. to put (or set) one's house in order: to organize one's affairs properly or efficiently; (also) to put (or set) one's own house in order: (of a person, group, institution) to make necessary changes to improve to one's own affairs, esp. before attacking or criticizing others. [After 2 Kings 20:1. Compare early modern German beschick deyn haus (1523 in Luther's translation of 2 Kings 20:1), post-classical Latin praecipe domui tuae (Vulgate).]
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > amending > provide a remedy [verb (intransitive)] > put matters right > by (re-)organizing effectively
to put (or set) one's house in order1583
to get one's act together1973
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 4 Kings xx. A And the prophet Esay..came to him, & sayde vnto him: Thus sayeth ye Lorde: Set thine house in ordre for thou shalt dye & not lyve.]
1583 W. Chauncie tr. P. Viret Worlde Possessed with Deuils i. sig. A.vi Set thine house in order, and reforme the people.
1611 Bible (King James) 2 Kings xx. 1 And the Prophet Isaiah the sonne of Amos came to him, and saide vnto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not liue. View more context for this quotation
1783 S. Johnson Let. 9 Sept. (1994) IV. 198 She died without a struggle..and..having set her house in order, was prepared to leave it.
1833 Friend 6 111/3 We freely animadvert upon their conduct..forgetting in the meantime to look at home, and put our own houses in order.
1850 A. Jameson Legends Monastic Orders 278 The young count..confessed himself, set his house in order.
1949 A. Wilson Wrong Set 49 You had better put your own house in order before you go listening to wicked lies.
1965 New Statesman 14 May 749/3 Such a policy of firmness would make it clear to all that we are determined to put our economic house in order.
2000 Guardian 26 Aug. i. 28/8 Gleeful Catholics could start by putting their own house in order; if their Anglican neighbours are having a bit of a domestic, dry rot is silently eroding their own floorboards.
c. a man's house is his castle: see castle n. 3e.
d. to throw (also fling) the house out of (also †at) the window (also windows) and variants: to put everything into a state of disorder or confusion, to create an uproar; (also, now usually) to celebrate with abandon.House here apparently has the sense ‘household possessions, furniture’ (cf. household n. 3).
[Compare early modern Dutch het huys te veynsteren uytwerpen (16th cent.), French jeter la maison par la fenêtre , jeter la maison par les fenêtres (18th cent. or earlier).
In recent use (compare quots. 1964, 2005) after Spanish tirar la casa par la ventana to celebrate with abandon (1846 or earlier; compare synonymous echar la casa par la ventana (1786)). The precise relationship between the Spanish and English phrases is unclear.]
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > commotion, disturbance, or disorder > be in commotion or disorder [verb (intransitive)] > cause commotion or disorder
to make work?1473
perturb1543
hurly-burly1598
to throw (also fling) the house out of (also at) the window (also windows)1602
tumultuate1611
to beat up the quarters of1670
hurricane1682
larum1729
to kick up, make, raise a stour1787
stour1811
to strike a bustle1823
to cut shindies1829
to kick up a shindy1829
hurricanize1833
rumpus1839
to raise (Old) Ned1840
to raise hell1845
fustle1891
to rock the boat1903
1602 W. Watson Decacordon Ten Quodlibeticall Questions 44 You shall haue a yong Iesuitesse ready to flie in his face, to cast the house out at the window.
1613 F. Beaumont Knight of Burning Pestle iii. sig. G3 We are at home now; where I warrant you, you shall finde the house flung out at the windowes.
1621 T. W. tr. S. Goulart Wise Vieillard 73 Sometimes shee is all for belly cheare and banquettings, and as we say, throwes the house out at the windowes.
1719 ‘J. Gay’ Ovid in Masquerade 4 I am Sprung from the great Telamon, Who..Sack'd the Trojans....And threw their Houses out at Windows.
1783 T. Holcroft Human Happiness vi. 65 Break the crockery,..cuff their wives, and whip their babies, Burn tables,..And toss the house out at the windows.
1844 W. H. Maxwell Wanderings in Highlands & Islands I. vi. 144 Would not..Stubbs throw the house out of the windows afterwards?
1913 E. Phillpotts Widecombe Fair v. 36 They say things, and do things, and even think things, that you'd fear must throw the house out of windows, and wreck the home for evermore.
1964 H. F. Peterson Argentina & U.S. xxii. 391 The porteños ‘threw their house out of the window’ to welcome the American fleet in World War I.
2005 Christian Sci. Monitor (Nexis) 15 Apr. (World section) 1 If Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiaga is chosen, she says, ‘We will throw the house out the window’—that is, in Honduras-speak, they will party.
e. to pull an old house on one's head and variants: see pull v. Phrases 1.
f. atop of the house: in an uproar; in a state of excitement, passion, or rage. Now rare (regional in later use).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > excitement > [adverb] > in a state of excitement
agogc1450
up1470
full scent1614
atop of the house?1651
astir1837
a-seethe1879
above oneself1890
?1651 in B. Worden Rump Parl. (1977) xii. 245 If he [sc. Christopher Love] escape the whole presbyterian [interest] will be a-top of the House.
1673 tr. E. de Refuge Art of Complaisance 130 If any trick or foul play be offered, we are not to be presently a top on the house.
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew at Boughs He is..a top of the House, of one upon the Rant, or in a great Ferment.
1707 C. Cibber Lady's Last Stake iv. ii. 53 Some Women wou'd ha' been a-top of the House by this time, if they had only heard of their Lover's common Civility to another.
1875 W. D. Parish Dict. Sussex Dial. 123 If you says anything to him he's up-a-top-of-the-house drackly minut.
1905 A. C. Inchbold Let. Killeth 84 But ye should mind the lad's that hot-headed he gets atop of the house.
g. to bow (down) in the house of Rimmon: to pay lip service to some principle which one does not accept; to sacrifice one's principles for the sake of conformity. [After 2 Kings 5:18 (compare quot. 1535). Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, believed in the God of Israel after being cured of leprosy by the prophet Elisha and begged forgiveness for his future participation in the worship of the Aramaean god Rimmon out of allegiance to the king.]
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > be in adversity [verb (intransitive)] > bring trouble upon oneself
to bow (down) in the house of Rimmon1718
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 2 Kings v. 18 Yf I [Naaman] worshippe in the house of Rimmon, whan my lorde goeth there in to ye house to worshippe.]
1718 Defoe in W. Lee Life & Recently Discovered Writings Defoe (1869) I. p. xiii Thus I bow in the House of Rimmon, and must humbly recommend myself to his Lordship's Protection.
1903 R. Kipling Five Nations 104 Duly with knees that feign to quake—Bent head and shaded brow,—Yet once again, for my father's sake, In Rimmon's House I bow.
1956 N. Annan in J. Morris From Third Programme 150 If you bow down in the house of Rimmon you admit that its values are more important than yours.
2005 Spectator (Nexis) 2 July 46 Mick Crocker consented, just this once, to bow in the house of Rimmon by putting to sea in a craft made of plastic.
h. Originally U.S. like a house on fire (also afire): as fast as a house would burn; very rapidly or vigorously. Frequently in to get on like a house on fire: (a) to progress rapidly and successfully; (b) (of two people) to establish quickly and maintain a very good relationship.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swiftly [phrase]
on fastec1275
as greyhound (let out) of leasha1300
a good (also great, etc.) shake13..
in hastec1300
(wiþ) gret yre13..
in speeda1325
good speeda1400
on (also upon) the wing or one's wing1508
with post1569
on or upon the speed1632
on the run?1679
by the run1787
like a house on fire (also afire)1809
at the double-quick1834
with a run1834
fast and furious1851
at the double1860
at the rate of knots1892
for (or on) the (high) jump1905
like blue murder1914
1809 W. Irving Hist. N.Y. II. vi. vii. 148 At it they went, like five hundred houses on fire!
1835 T. C. Haliburton Clockmaker (1837) 1st. Ser. xxvi. 282 Considerable stiff at first, but when he once got under way, he got on like a house a fire.
1855 Harper's Mag. June 107/2 He is a fine fellow—only wants getting a start in life, and he'd get on like a house on fire.
1939 Harper's Mag. Mar. 442/2 We ate or sold forty-five broilers and roasters, and ended up with thirty-six pullets, all laying like a house afire.
1958 M. Allingham Hide my Eyes (1985) ix. 91 He and I got on like a house on fire from the moment we met.
2005 M. Lewycka Short Hist. Tractors in Ukrainian xxv. 255 Despite being rivals in love, Pappa and Dubov get on like a house on fire.
i. (as) safe as houses: completely safe and secure; (in early use also) certainly, undoubtedly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > safety > perfectly safe [phrase]
(as) safe as houses1850
1850 S. Brooks & J. Oxenford Timour the Tartar! ii. 21 Well then, I'll give my word that Timour's life Shall be safe as houses.
1859 K. Cornwallis Panorama New World I. 79 The owner of the weapon assured him that he was as safe as houses.
1860 J. H. Friswell Out & About xiii. 70 ‘You're booked, safe as houses.’ ‘As houses!’ returned the professor. ‘A curious expression. Some houses are not safe.’
1871 T. Hardy Desperate Remedies III. iv. 92 I shall be high-treasoned—as safe as houses.
1929 J. B. Priestley Good Compan. iii. i. 461 ‘That's not frightened her, seemingly.’ ‘Why should it ?’ said Ethel... ‘She's safe as houses here now.’
1998 Off Road & 4 Wheel Drive Feb. 25/1 You really feel in control of the universe and as safe as houses in a Discovery pilot seat.
j. to go (all) round the houses (British colloquial): to take an unnecessarily circuitous route to one's destination; (figurative) to get to the point in a lengthy or roundabout way.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > copiousness > be copious [verb (intransitive)] > use periphrasis
to beat (formerly also go, wend, seek) about the bushc1440
wind1528
periphrase1652
to go about1815
circumlocute1859
circumlocutionize1886
to go (all) round the houses1958
1958 F. Norman Bang to Rights 129 Alright but I wish you wouldn't go all round the houses.
1965 V. Canning Whip Hand iv. 43 You mean your little story..wasn't true?.. You went a hell of a way round the houses about this.
1975 A. Ayckbourn Round & round Garden 11 You're going round the houses... You'd do better to go through East Grinstead.
2006 Sun (Nexis) 16 May When the ambulance did arrive I thought we'd go straight to hospital but instead we went all round the houses.
P2.
house and home n. (used for alliterative emphasis) a person's home; in early use esp. in to cast, chase, drive, hunt, scare, etc. (a person) out of house and home; now chiefly in to eat (a person) out of house and home: see eat v. 4a.Similarly house and hall, house and harbour, etc. (now rare; regional in later use). [Compare similar alliterative phrases in other Germanic languages, e.g. Middle Dutch huus ende hof, huus ende erve, etc., Middle Low German hūs unde hof, German Haus und Heim (16th cent.), (now usually) Haus und Hof (15th cent.).]
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > [noun] > home
homeOE
homesteadOE
house and homelOE
hearthstone1659
home dwelling1743
establishment1803
hearth and home1822
roof1853
yard1865
down home1920
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1129 Se þe þet ne wolden [i.e. who was not willing to repudiate his wife] done forgede his circe & his hus & his ham.
a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 35 (MED) For ðessere eadi hope hie forlateð fader and moder, wif and children, hus and ham, and alle worldes wele and blisse.
c1275 ( Will of Siflæd (Sawyer 1525a) in D. Whitelock Anglo-Saxon Wills (1930) 94 Al þat þere to lafe gesceotte, þat beth on Mardingforða hus and hom & wude and feld & on medwe and on yrue.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 7702 (MED) He caste out of house & hom of men a gret route.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 229 Men of þe lond were i-dryve out of hir hous and hir home.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 408 Smartly I þe teche Of my hous & my home.
1527 W. Tyndale Doctr. Treat. (1848) 122 The prayers of them that..eat the poor out of house and harbour.
1552 Abp. J. Hamilton Catech. i. viii. f. xxi Quhasa..hurtis ony vther man and hareis him out of house and harbarie.
1576 A. Fleming tr. Epimenides in Panoplie Epist. 204 Hunted out of house and home.
a1625 J. Boys Wks. (1629) 264 That tenant deserues to be thrust out of house and home..that implieth all the best roomes vnto the basest offices.
1682 J. Bunyan Holy War 82 Provided that no man..be..cast out of house, harbor, or the freedom that he hath hitherto enjoyed. View more context for this quotation
1753 A. Murphy Gray's Inn Jrnl. No. 40 239 Whole Families are entirely routed out of House and Home.
1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. at Harry ‘He harried me out of house and home’; that is, he robbed me of my goods and turned me out of doors.
1826 Blackwood's Mag. Aug. 300/1 We maun either be burned to death, or out of house and hall, without a rag to cover our nakedness.
1892 Frank Leslie's Pop. Monthly Nov. 623 Enough to frighten a man like him out of house and harbor.
1956 Atlantic 198/6 Very few workers..had yet been forced to sell house and home.
2003 Mojo Nov. 146/2 In anybody else's hands the sheer pompousness of her undertaking would be laughed out of house and home.
P3. With of and noun phrase.
a.
(a) house of religion: see religion n. Phrases 2.
(b)
house of piety n. [perhaps after Italian (now hist.) casa di pietà (although this is apparently first attested slightly later: 1609 or earlier)] now archaic and historical a charitable house, as a hospital, poorhouse, or the like, established for reasons of piety; (also) a religious house, as a monastery, convent, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > artefacts > monastic property (general) > monastery or convent > [noun]
minstereOE
monklifeeOE
clausterc1000
abbotricOE
house?a1160
anchor-house?c1225
religion?c1225
abbeyc1300
nunneryc1300
house (also abbey) of religiona1325
nunryc1325
closterc1330
cloister1340
monasterya1425
monk-house?c1475
friars1479
convent1528
guild1546
prioressy1575
abbey-stead1620
minchery1710
reclusory1821
akhara1838
house of piety1838
kloster1844
1599 E. Sandys Europæ Speculum (1632) 22 Another thing very memorable and imitable in Italy, is the exceeding good provision of Hospitalls and houses of Pietie.
1601 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Worlde 89 Amongst other religious places..there is the house of pietie, called il Monte della pieta [It. Tra gli altri luoghi pij..vi è il monte della pietà], which..may dispend yeerely 60000. crownes.
1701 in Lett. Wit, Politicks, & Morality vi. xxv. 295 A certain Wind call'd..Gallicia Wind..very often from a Neighbouring Brothel..carries the Pox into a House of Piety.
1838 Dublin Univ. Mag. June 704/2 Far from exhibiting the demure abstraction which one thinks of as proper to a house of piety, [the monks] were engaged in eager..chat.
1984 J. C. Cruz Relics xiii. 292 The incorrupt hand, enshrined in a golden reliquary, is the hand that signed orders for the building of numerous houses of piety.
b.
house of office n. now historical (a) (usually in plural) a building or outhouse for some domestic purpose, as a pantry, brewery, storehouse, etc.; (b) a privy, latrine.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > outhouse(s) > [noun]
little houseOE
outhouse1301
housingc1384
house of officec1405
officesa1422
easement?a1425
shed1457
outhousing1583
outbuilding1600
outroom1602
outoffice1630
office-house1632
out-hut1856
shedding1883
nushnik1945
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > room > room by type of use > [noun] > utility rooms
house of officec1405
officesa1422
sculleryc1440
office-house1632
porch1878
utility room1953
utility area1969
utility1976
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > privy or latrine > [noun]
gongOE
privy?c1225
room-housec1275
chamber foreignc1300
wardrobea1325
privy chamberc1325
foreignc1390
siegec1400
stool1410
jakes1432
house of easementa1438
kocayc1440
siege-hole1440
siege-house1440
privy house1463
withdraught1493
draught1530
shield1535
bench-hole1542
common house1542
stool1542
jakes house1547
boggard1552
house of office?1560
purging place1577
little house1579
issue1588
Ajax1596
draught-house1597
private1600
necessary house1612
vault1617
longhouse1622
latrine1623
necessary1633
commonsa1641
gingerbread officea1643
boghouse1644
cloaca1645
passage-house1646
retreat1653
shithouse1659
closet of ease1662
garderobe1680
backside1704
office1727
bog?1731
house of ease1734
cuz-john1735
easing-chair1771
backhouse1800
outhouse1819
netty1825
petty1848
seat of ease1850
closet1869
bathroom1883
crapper1927
lat1927
shouse1941
biffy1942
shitholec1947
toot1965
shitter1967
woodshed1974
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Clerk's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 264 Al the palays put was in array..Houses of office stuffed with plentee.
1447–8 in L. F. Salzman Building in Eng. (1952) 522 (MED) Beyond thees housynges..a bak hous and bruehous and other houses of Offices.
?1560 H. Rhodes Bk. Nurture (new ed.) sig. Aiii If he ly in a strange place se his shetes be cleane, then folde down his bed, and warme his night kercher, and se his house of office be cleane.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 292 They..goe first to the house of office, and there purge their bodie.
1639 W. Laud Let. 2 Jan. in Hist. Troubles (1695) 560 The decayed Walls whereof stand mean Houses of Office, as Brewhouse, Stable, &c.
1764 D. Garrick Let. 5 Aug. (1963) II. 422 I..have regal'd Myself with a good house of Office..the holes in Germany are..too round, chiefly owing..to the broader bottoms of the Germans.
1799 Cambrian Reg. 1796 2 viii. 96/2 Sellers, larders, brew-houses, and other houses of office.
1880 J. D. Leader Mary, Queen of Scots 145 To the south there was an outward court..built round with various houses of office, as an armoury, a granary, barns, stables, and lodgings.
1922 S. Webb & B. Webb Eng. Local Govt. IV. i. 76 The ‘houses of office’ which were everywhere being stealthily connected with the underground channels.
1999 J. T. Cliffe World Country House ii. 35 The houses of office, as they were called, consisted in particular of the kitchen, the buttery, the pantry or larder, the still-room,..the brewhouse, the slaughterhouse and the laundry or wash-house.
c. house of ease (also easement): see ease n. 9b, easement n. 3b.
d.
house of clay n. †(a) a grave; cf. clay n. 3 (obsolete); (b) the human body, esp. considered as a vessel for the soul or spirit; cf. clay n. 4a.
ΚΠ
1557 Earl of Surrey et al. Songes & Sonettes sig. X.iiiv Eke a shrowdyng shete, A house of claye for to be made, For such a gest most mete.
1582 T. Bentley Fift Lampe Virginitie 191 My forworne and withered bodie threateneth my decaie. This house of claie waxeth verie ruinous in euerie part thereof.
1637 S. Rutherford Let. in Joshua Redivivus (1664) i. cxxix. 252 In a house of clay, the dark grave.
1647 C. Wyvill Certaine Serious Thoughts 22 My flitting Soule must leave her house of clay.
1725 F. Gastrell Moral Proof Certainty Future State 101 We are assured, that, upon quitting this house of clay, there is a glorious and incorruptible Body to be put on.
1785 W. Cowper Task ii. 458 A heavenly mind May be indifferent to her house of clay.
1864 Atlantic Monthly Aug. 171/1 The coarsest, most degraded drudge still harbors in his wretched house of clay a divine guest.
1934 C. R. Brown They were Giants vi. 137 You shall not quite lose touch with the feeling that the soul of a man dwells in this house of clay.
2006 J. Scudder in B. Steiger Revelation x. 162 Even though we see it encased in a house of clay, commonly called the body, spirit still exists as that part of God in man.
e. house of correction: see correction n. 4d.
f. house of reformation: see reformation n.1 4b.
g. house of war: see war n.1 5c.
h.
houses of parliament n. (now usually with capital initials) in the United Kingdom, the Houses of Lords and Commons taken together, or the building which houses them, the Palace of Westminster; (hence) the two main legislative houses of a system modelled on the British parliament (as in Australia, Canada, India, etc.), or the building where they meet. Cf. parliament house n.Occasionally also in singular: one of the Houses of Parliament.The English Houses of Parliament originally had no purpose-built meeting place but met in the (Old) Palace of Westminster, the chief royal residence in London. In the early 16th cent., after it was damaged by fire, Henry VIII ceased to use it as a residence; the building complex then became the permanent seat of Parliament, being thereafter known as the Houses of Parliament. The palace was destroyed by fire in 1834 and the current Houses of Parliament (the New Palace of Westminster), designed by Sir Charles Barry and decorated by Augustus Pugin, were formally opened in 1852.
ΚΠ
1584 J. Rainolds & J. Hart Summe of Conf. iv. 161 Princes and Counsailours in matters of State, Nobles and Commons in the houses of Parlament.
1621 J. Ussher (title) The substance of..a sermon before the Commons House of Parliament, in St. Margarets Church at Westminster, the 18. of February, 1620.
1642 J. March Argument Militia 11 The Law will..inable the two Houses of Parliament, to put the Kingdome into a posture of warre.
1771 O. Goldsmith Hist. Eng. III. 168 He [sc. James I] concluded that some sudden danger was preparing by gun-powder; and it was thought adviseable to inspect all the vaults below the houses of parliament.
1837 Tait's Edinb. Mag. 4 668/1 The weaving of as pretty a garland of red-hot, bigoted, and immovable Toryism, as ever was sent up to vote in either House of Parliament.
1843 Mrs. H. Wood Change for Amer. Notes 20/2 The new Houses of Parliament are in course of erection close to the river; they will form a fine object from..Westminster Bridge.
1889 J. E. C. Munro Constit. Canada 27 In 1867 the Canadian Houses of Parliament adopted a joint address to Her Majesty.
1912 Americana 13 at Melbourne, Australia The [Victorian] Houses of Parliament form a remarkable pile with a splendid west facade.
1991 Economist 2 Nov. 55/1 The 460 seats in the Sejm (the lower house of parliament) were allotted among scores of parties.
2004 New Yorker 1 Mar. 94/1 Upriver from Tate Modern, across from the Houses of Parliament..is..the..Saatchi Gallery.
i. house of repair: see repair n.1 Phrases 2.
j.
house of mercy n. [originally after Middle French, French †hostel de misericorde (1600 in the passage translated in quot. 1607; now hôtel de miséricorde ); compare slightly earlier house of piety n. at Phrases 3a(b)] any of various charitable institutions caring for the sick or needy; in later use spec. (often with capital initials) a home for reformed prostitutes, unmarried mothers, etc.; a Magdalene house.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > refuge or shelter > [noun] > a place of refuge > for women or orphans
preservatory1758
house of mercy1767
refuge1974
1607 E. Grimeston tr. Gen. Inuentorie Hist. France ii. 71 The Constable was carried to his lodging called the house of Mercy [Fr. Hostel de Misericorde] (it is now the house of Guise, as the historie obserues) all wounded.
1680 J. Chamberlaine Sacred Poem 35 Within the Town there stood..An House of Mercy, where the Blind and Lame, And Wither'd Persons lay.
1767 W. Dodd Poems 151 Through man's seducing shame; This house of mercy [sc. the Magdalen-House] is procur'd.
1838 Jrnl. Statist. Soc. 1 346 The House of Mercy...embraces an asylum for aged men and women, orphan children, male and female, lunatics, poor married couples.
1868 Nat. Gazetteer I. 595 Clewer,..There is..a penitentiary, called the House of Mercy, founded in 1849.
1971 Jrnl. Negro Educ. 40 377 A select school for girls..provided the wherewithal to build..a House of Mercy adjoining their convent, where they cared for destitute and friendless girls.
2008 Irish Times (Nexis) 24 Mar. 8 The Tralee nuns opened a ‘house of Mercy’ providing day accommodation for young women at risk.
k. house of cards: see card n.2 Phrases 2a.
l.
(a)
house of ill repute n. now archaic (also house of ill fame, †house of evil fame): a house regarded as disreputable, esp. a brothel.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > prostitution > [noun] > brothel
houseOE
bordelc1300
whorehousec1330
stew1362
bordel housec1384
stewc1384
stivec1386
stew-house1436
bordelryc1450
brothel house1486
shop?1515
bains1541
common house1545
bawdy-house1552
hothouse1556
bordello1581
brothela1591
trugging house1591
trugging place1591
nunnery1593
vaulting-house1596
leaping house1598
Pickt-hatch1598
garden house1606
vaulting-school1606
flesh-shambles1608
whore-sty1621
bagnioa1640
public house1640
harlot-house1641
warrena1649
academy1650
call house1680
coney burrow1691
case1699
nanny-house1699
house of ill reputea1726
smuggling-ken1725
kip1766
Corinth1785
disorderly house1809
flash-house1816
dress house1823
nanny-shop1825
house of tolerance1842
whore shop1843
drum1846
introducing house1846
khazi1846
fast house1848
harlotry1849
maison de tolérance1852
knocking-shop1860
lupanar1864
assignation house1870
parlour house1871
hook shop1889
sporting house1894
meat house1896
massage parlour1906
case house1912
massage establishment1921
moll-shop1923
camp1925
notch house1926
creep joint1928
slaughterhouse1928
maison de convenance1930
cat-house1931
Bovril1936
maison close1939
joy-house1940
rib joint1940
gaff1947
maison de passe1960
rap parlour1973
1654 T. Ivie Alimony Arraign'd 20 That Mrs. Williamson lived in a house of ill fame in a little blind Alley.
a1726 J. Vanbrugh Journey to London (1728) i. i. 8 He was kidnapp'd into a House of ill Repute.
1790 J. B. Moreton Manners & Customs West India Islands 187 Should business call you into a Grog-shop, or other house of ill fame.
1821 W. Combe Third Tour Dr. Syntax xxxvii. 192 This is a house of evil-fame.
1886 N. H. Dole tr. L. Tolstoy Anna Karénina xxv She wanted to escape from the house of ill-fame where she was.
1946 National Geographic Mag. July 106/2 Almost in the center of the village..was a rather dilapidated hut which Jimmy told us was the local house of ill fame.
2005 P. Carey Wrong about Japan ii. 32 I realised I couldn't tell the difference between a restaurant and a house of ill repute.
(b)
house of assignation n. now archaic and historical a house where lovers meet secretly, or where prostitutes meet their clients.
ΚΠ
1714 Court of Atalantis 57 Julio found Bellinda so easy while he contented himself with small Favours, that he..nam'd a House of Assignation which he us'd, for their Meeting the next Day.
1834 Sun (N.Y.) 10 Apr. 2/2 Such men as Samuel Q. Wright, (a bank man) the keeper of a notorious house of assignation, and prostitution.
1862 B. Hemyng in H. Mayhew London Labour (new ed.) Extra vol. 255/1 Keepers of houses of assignation, where the last-mentioned class [sc. ladies of intrigue] may carry on their amours with secresy.
2007 R. Frances Selling Sex (2008) viii. 140 They might pick up a violent customer, and the houses of assignation and short-time houses provided less protection against such men than the brothels.
(c)
house of tolerance n. now archaic and historical = maison de tolérance n. at maison n. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > prostitution > [noun] > brothel
houseOE
bordelc1300
whorehousec1330
stew1362
bordel housec1384
stewc1384
stivec1386
stew-house1436
bordelryc1450
brothel house1486
shop?1515
bains1541
common house1545
bawdy-house1552
hothouse1556
bordello1581
brothela1591
trugging house1591
trugging place1591
nunnery1593
vaulting-house1596
leaping house1598
Pickt-hatch1598
garden house1606
vaulting-school1606
flesh-shambles1608
whore-sty1621
bagnioa1640
public house1640
harlot-house1641
warrena1649
academy1650
call house1680
coney burrow1691
case1699
nanny-house1699
house of ill reputea1726
smuggling-ken1725
kip1766
Corinth1785
disorderly house1809
flash-house1816
dress house1823
nanny-shop1825
house of tolerance1842
whore shop1843
drum1846
introducing house1846
khazi1846
fast house1848
harlotry1849
maison de tolérance1852
knocking-shop1860
lupanar1864
assignation house1870
parlour house1871
hook shop1889
sporting house1894
meat house1896
massage parlour1906
case house1912
massage establishment1921
moll-shop1923
camp1925
notch house1926
creep joint1928
slaughterhouse1928
maison de convenance1930
cat-house1931
Bovril1936
maison close1939
joy-house1940
rib joint1940
gaff1947
maison de passe1960
rap parlour1973
1842 N.Y. Herald 3 Aug. 1/4 Sources of prostitution in Paris.—The mistresses of the houses of Tolerance have in their pay agents in the different hospitals.
1948 S. J. Perelman Westward Ha! iv. 47 He offered to lead me to a house of tolerance, where, he implied, delights..might be viewed at moderate cost.
2004 F. Goldman Divine Husband 112 They hunted down any girl who ran away from a licensed house of tolerance.
m.
house of accommodation n. now archaic and historical (a) an inn or other establishment providing lodging for travellers; (b) a house where prostitutes take their clients, a house of ill repute, a brothel (cf. Phrases 3l).
ΚΠ
1671 L. Addison W. Barbary v. 128 When I said that the Moors have no Houses of Accommodation, it was with exception of the..Chambers maintain'd by the Revenues of the Church, built on purpose to receive Strangers of any Perswasion.
1749 J. Cleland Mem. Woman of Pleasure II. 12 This was the safest, politest, and at the same time the most thorough house of accommodation in town.
1788 World 11 Apr. 2/2 The distances of the towns and villages from each other, and the best houses of accommodation,..are all accurately inserted.
1860 De Bow's Rev. Sept. 381 On the shores of most of these lakes are houses of accommodation, with boats and fishing tackle at command.
1891 C. Booth Labour & Life People London II. 342 With regard to the houses for ‘married couples’ the less said the better—..for the most part they are simply houses of accommodation, and a source of contamination and degradation to the districts in which they are to be found.
1973 G. Butler Coffin for Pandora i. 26 Just as some of them could rise to an elegant house in Brompton, others could sink to a house of accommodation off the Haymarket or even worse.
1997 D. B. Freeman Carved in Stone ii. 27 At New Gibraltar a house of accommodation awaited the weary traveller.
n.
house of call n. (a) a house where journeymen of a particular trade assemble, where carriers call for commissions, or where a person may be heard of or contacted (now historical); (b) (gen.) a house (or, in extended use, a place) that a person visits regularly, or that is often visited (now rare).
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > public building > [noun]
hall1297
school?a1425
common house1537
basilica1541
public house1560
public building1561
state house1593
prytaneum1673
house of call1699
basilic1728
zayat1823
civic centre1867
jong1904
society > leisure > social event > visit > visiting > [noun] > house which one visits
house of call1845
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew House of Call, the usual lodging Place of Journey-men Tailers.
1747 R. Campbell London Tradesman xxxviii. 193 The House of Call is an Ale-House, where they generally use, the landlord knows where to find them, and Masters go there to enquire when they want Hands.
1756 R. Rolt New Dict. Trade House of Call, a house where journeymen taylors, shoemakers, and all other artificers meet, and may be heard of.
1805 R. Southey New Lett. (1965) I. 515 It will be pleasant to have a house of call there.
a1832 J. Bentham Equity Disp. Court Bill in Wks. (1839) X. 410/1 By an attendant's House of Call, understand a house to which..a letter if directed will..be sure to reach him.
1843 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit (1844) xiii. 162 This poor waggoner's house-of-call.
1845 Darwin in Life & Lett. (1887) I. 345 I shall feel a lost man in London without my morning ‘house of call’ at Hart Street.
1902 C. H. E. Brookfield Random Reminisc. viii. 144 The regular ‘house of call’..for the members of the Haymarket Theatre was the Cafe de l'Europe.
1931 J. Buchan Blanket of Dark iii. 54 ‘Wood Eaton will be a safe retreat for a week.’..‘It is none too safe a sanctuary. Wood Eaton has a plaguey name as a house of call for all and sundry.’
1997 I. Prothero Radical Artisans Eng. & France iii. 51 The trade house of call, usually a public-house, was a universal feature, where members out of work entered their names on a book and waited.
o.
house of refuge n. an institution offering (moral) refuge; (in later use spec.) a reformatory for children or young adults.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > accommodation or lodging > public lodging-places > [noun] > for homeless people
house of refuge1726
night sheltera1819
night refuge1840
tramp-house1850
straw yard1851
casual ward1861
casual1865
shelter1890
reception centre1896
tramp-cell1905
tramp-ward1906
Sally Ann1927
Sally1931
1726 Mr. Rogers tr. Case Seduction against C. N. des Rues 21 Her Relations finding new Cause of Complaint against this young Woman, were obliged to put her in a House of Refuge, where she still remains.
1866 Act 29 & 30 Vict. c. 117 §31 Provided that such House of Refuge, School, or Institution is certified as a Reformatory School under this Act.
1931 Ann. Amer. Acad. Polit. & Social Sci. 157 15/1 A much larger proportion of boys and girls are confined in separate institutions, known variously as houses of refuge, protectories, State schools for boys or girls, as the case may be.
2008 St. Louis (Missouri) Post-Dispatch (Nexis) 15 June f1 Police stopped black men from selling liquor, deposited lost children in a House of Refuge and gunned down stray dogs.
p.
house of water n. now rare (chiefly in Cornish tin mining) a hidden reservoir in a mine, usually an abandoned working that has filled with water; frequently in to hole to a (or the) house of water.
ΚΠ
1778 W. Pryce Mineralogia Cornubiensis iii. ii. 168 They have unexpectedly holed to the house of water, before they thought themselves near to it, and instantly perished.
1868 R. M. Ballantyne Deep Down (1869) xvii. 216 To the memory of James, aged 20, and John, aged 15 years..who were drowned..by the holing to a house of water in North Levant Mine.
1893 T. J. Foster Coal & Metal Miners' Pocket-bk. (rev. ed.) 53 In this way there will be no danger of running into ‘a house of water’, as the Cornish miners call it.
1947 H. Innes Killer Mine vi. 148 Sometimes when you reach the house of water and the drill comes out with a gush of water pouring from the drill hole, the whole face of the adit collapses.
q. house of review: see review n. Phrases 3.
r. house of detention: see detention n. 1a.
P4. With verbs.
a. to hold house: to maintain a house or household (with, for a person); to keep house (see Phrases 4b(b)). Also figurative. Now rare. [Compare the phrasal verbs in other Germanic languages cited in the etymological note at householding n., and also Middle French tenir maison (c1350).]
ΚΠ
a1400 (c1300) Northern Homily: Serm. on Gospels (Coll. Phys.) in Middle Eng. Dict. at Hous-wif Thar als hoswif held scho house.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xv. l. 138 (MED) He was a nygarde..a wrecched hous he helde.
?1566–7 G. Buchanan Opinion Reformation Univ. St. Andros in Vernacular Writings (1892) 6 And he be maryit, or hald hous out of the college.
c1600 (?c1395) Pierce Ploughman's Crede (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) (1873) l. 52 Þat wicked folke [sc. Carmelites] wymmen bi-traieþ, And bigileþ hem of her good wiþ glauerynge wordes, And þerwiþ holden her hous in harlotes werkes.
1653 D. Dickson Brief Explic. First 50 Psalms xlvii. 323 He delivered them out of Egypt, setled them in Canaan, held house among them in a Tabernacle [etc.].
a1734 R. Wodrow Coll. Lives Reformers Church Scotl. (1848) II. ii. 74 [In] 1595, the Session order the names of single women, holding house together, to be taken up.
1901 E. Castle Light of Scarthey (new ed.) ix. 86 The long plaintive figure of his maiden sister, who had held house for him..ever since the death..of his..wife.
2000 O. Vésteinsson Christianization Iceland v. 207 Sometimes it is said that he [sc. a priest] held house together with the resident householder.
b. to keep house and variants.
(a) To manage the day-to-day affairs of a household; to take charge of the house and perform or direct domestic work; (now typically) to do the cooking, cleaning, and other tasks involved in the running of a household. to keep (a person's) house: to maintain and manage the house for someone. to keep a neat, tidy, etc., house: to maintain a house of the sort specified. [Compare the etymological note at to hold house, and also housekeep v.]
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > control > be in control [verb (intransitive)] > manage or administrate > manage household
to keep housec1405
to hold or keep householdc1425
to housewife it1566
economize1649
housekeep1813
to do for ——1844
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Merchant's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 138 Ther as ther is no wyf the hous to kepe.
1581 B. Rich Farewell Militarie Profession sig. Xi He led her home vnto his house, and left her there with an olde woman that kept his house, to whom he recomended her.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) i. iv. 91 I may call him my Master..for I keepe his house; and I wash, ring..make the beds, and doe all my selfe.
a1739 S. Wesley Poems Several Occasions (1743) 66 Who spares for Meat and Drink in keeping House, May save her Substance, but may lose her Spouse.
1808 A. M. Grant Mem. Amer. Lady I. xxxii. 316 They always were considered as equals, and each kept a neat house.
1813 J. Austen Pride & Prejudice I. iv. 29 Miss Bingley is to live with her brother, and keep his house . View more context for this quotation
1891 Cornhill Mag. July 57 She meant to keep house for her father.
1933 ‘E. Cambridge’ Hostages to Fortune 303 Valiantly..she had kept his house and brought up his children.
1956 M. Dickens Angel in Corner ix. 155 No man has the slightest idea of keeping house.
1996 Sunday Post (Glasgow) 30 June 6/3 If the worst comes to the worst at least people will know I kept a tidy house.
2007 J. McCourt Now Voyagers vii. 337 Noranna being one of the women who keep house here: not to be called servants merely.
(b) To maintain and preside over a household; (also †to keep one's house) to have one's home, reside (in a place). to keep house with: to reside in and maintain a house with; similarly to keep house together. Also figurative. Now archaic. [Compare Middle French tenir maison, used with adverb of place (a1407).]
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > [verb (intransitive)]
wonc725
erdec893
siteOE
liveeOE
to make one's woningc960
through-wonOE
bigc1175
walkc1225
inwonea1300
lenda1300
lenga1300
lingera1300
erthec1300
stallc1315
lasta1325
lodge1362
habit?a1366
breeda1375
inhabitc1374
indwella1382
to have one's mansionc1385
to take (up) one's inn (or inns)a1400
keepc1400
repairc1400
to have (also hold, keep, make) one's residencec1405
to hold (also keep, make, take, etc.) one's mansiona1425
winc1425
to make (one's) residence1433
resort1453
abidec1475
use1488
remaina1500
demur1523
to keep one's house1523
occupy1523
reside1523
enerdc1540
kennel1552
bower1596
to have (also hold, keep, make) residence1597
subsist1618
mansiona1638
tenant1650
fastena1657
hospitate1681
wont1692
stay1754
to hang out1811
home1832
habitate1866
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabiting a type of place > inhabit type of place [verb (intransitive)] > inhabit house
to hold or keep householdc1425
housec1440
to keep house1523
to take up housec1600
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. cxv. f. lvi/1 The kyng withall his nauy lay in the hauyn of Sluse and there he kept his house.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms cxii[i]. 9 Which maketh the baren woman to kepe house.
1608 J. Day Humour out of Breath sig. B2 When the fiery spirit of hot youth Kept house within me.
1651 T. Randolph et al. Hey for Honesty 14 I am Poverty;..One that hath kept house with you this thirty years and upwards.
1702 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) V. 172 Her majestie will not begin to keep house as queen till the 1st of July.
1793 European Mag. & London Rev. Feb. 98/1 At that period he and a maiden sister kept house together.
1864 Ld. Tennyson Enoch Arden in Enoch Arden, etc. 2 In this the children play'd at keeping house.
1890 Temple Bar Sept. 43 The pair began to keep house upon love and hope.
1908 Northeastern Reporter 83 90/2 While in Springfield he kept house and was registered as a voter there.
1945 C. R. Fay Life & Labour in Nineteenth Cent. (ed. 3) ii. 17 Imperialism was picked up by protection, and for some years the two kept house together in uneasy..companionship.
1994 J. Updike Brazil xxvi. 211 Farms..where a single couple..kept house with their chickens and pigs.
(c) With modifying word. To provide in a specified manner (as poorly, generously, etc.) for the household, or (especially) for visitors or guests; often (and now chiefly) in to keep open house (see open house n. 1). [Compare Middle French, French tenir maison ouverte (c1510).]
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > social event > hospitality > show hospitality [verb (intransitive)] > liberal
to hold or keep householdc1425
to keep open door(s)1526
to keep (also hold) (an) open house1530
to keep house1530
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 597/1 The kyng is determyned to kepe house or open house this Christemas, le roy est deliberé de tenir court planiere ce Noel qui vient.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry V f. lxvv He kept a liberall hous to all commers.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) iii. i. 23 Alas good Lord, a Noble Gentleman 'tis, if he would not keep so good a house.
1662 W. Gurnall Christian in Armour: 3rd Pt. 598 If the trade fails in the shop, there is but a poor house kept within.
1728 J. Swift Intelligencer (1729) vii. 61 He kept a miserable house, but the Blame was laid wholly upon Madam.
1892 I. Zangwill Children of Ghetto I. 250 I should have to keep a kosher house, or look how people would talk.
1958 J. C. Herold Mistress to Age ix. 141 Mrs. Trevor..was spending the season in Lausanne, where she kept a lavish house.
2005 Encycl. Women & Islamic Cultures II. 230/2 Altorki notes that among the Jiddah elite a hostess should keep a ‘glittering, spotless, generous house’.
(d) to keep one's (or the) house: to stay indoors; to be confined to the house, as by illness, etc.; = to keep to the house at to keep to —— 2 at keep v. Phrasal verbs 2. Now rare.Formerly also: †to stay in the house for the purpose of guarding it (figurative in quot. 1608). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabiting a type of place > inhabit type of place [verb (intransitive)] > inhabit house > remain indoors
firec1500
to keep one's (or the) house1542
to keep up1704
to settle in1817
1542–3 Act 34 & 35 Hen. VIII c. 4 Sundrie persons..kepe their houses, not mindinge to paie..their debts.
1553 T. Wilson Arte Rhetorique (1580) 146 Beyng sicke, and therefore kepyng his house.
1608 Bp. J. Hall Characters Vertues & Vices i. 6 Both his eyes are neuer at once from home, but one keepes house while the other roues abroad for intelligence.
1794 A. M. Bennett Ellen II. 62 Sure, there is no necessity for us to keep house till she arrives.
1822 C. Abbott in R. V. Barnewall & C. Cresswell Rep. Cases King's Bench I. 61 Did not the bankrupt begin to keep house as a mode of absenting himself with an intent to delay his creditors?
1864 Ld. Tennyson Enoch Arden in Enoch Arden, etc. 45 Weakening the man, till he could do no more, But kept the house, his chair, and last his bed.
1902 P. E. Pinkerton tr. H. Düntzer Life Schiller (new ed.) iii. 476 Directly after that Schiller had to keep his house for a couple of days.
1914 O. J. Campbell & F. Schenck tr. L. Holberg Comedies 23 When the nobleman saw how big his head looked..he burst into tears... They say that he kept the house for several days.
c. to set up house: see to set up 27a at set v.1 Phrasal verbs 2.
d. to bring down the house (also to bring the house down): see to bring down 6 at bring v. Phrasal verbs 1.
e. Politics. to keep a House: to secure the presence of enough members to maintain a quorum in a parliamentary house (see sense A. 5a). Cf. to make a House at make v.1 17b. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1790 Parl. Reg. 1781–96 XXVII. 18 They would find it as difficult to make a quorum as it had been to keep a House.
1892 Chambers's Jrnl. 20 Feb. 114/2 Those who remain..for the sake of ‘keeping a house’.
1924 Times 14 Jan. 18 How was a Labour Government to succeed in highly controversial matters in keeping a house?
2010 United News of India (Nexis) 10 Feb. He..said the functioning of parliamentary democracy depended on how the whips shoulder responsibilities. Whips ‘make and keep’ a House.
f. to clean house. Cf. houseclean vb. at Compounds 10 in regular and extended use.
(a) North American. To clean and tidy the interior of a house, flat, etc.
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1825 B. Hibbard Mem. Life & Trav. 218 Some young women came to clean house, and I hired a woman to wash.
1885 Firemen's Mag. July 419/2 I like to clean house, and the children delight in the curiosities which emerge from the closets and rag bags.
1912 Christian Advocate 17 Oct. 27/1 Yes, she's started to clean house. She must have new draperies.
1986 D. Koontz Strangers i. i. 12 She cleaned house..with a thoroughness that defied her Aunt Francine's sub rosa inspections for dirt and grime.
2014 A. Goffman On Run (2015) vii. 176 Mr George's mother cooked and cleaned house for two white families in downtown Philadelphia.
(b) figurative (originally U.S.). To eliminate corruption or inefficiency in an organization; to remove unwanted or inessential personnel.
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1885 N.-Y. Times 17 Oct. 1/5 (headline) Why they cleaned house. An outspoken Ohio Democrat gives an interesting explanation.
1915 Rotarian July 51/1 In common with other organizations public utilities have cleaned house... Today there are no better managed, no more fairly conducted organizations than these.
1993 D. Coyle Hardball iv. iv. 178 There was an increasing possibility that the management would be ousted. ‘It's tough to tell what all that could mean’, Bill said. ‘But if they clean house, I could be on the street’.
2013 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 25 Feb. (Business section) 5 Less than a year after Craig was ousted, Stanford was also pushed out... The private equity boss was cleaning house.
g. to play house(s) (formerly also to play at house(s)): (of a child or children) to play at being a family in its home. Cf. mothers and fathers n. at mother n.1 1h.In quot. 1968 (with allusion to this game): to have sexual relations with someone.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > other children's games > [verb (intransitive)] > play at houses
to play house(s)1847
1847 L. Hunt Men, Women, & Bks. I. 115 A box, a separation, a snug corner, such as children love when they play at ‘house’.
1871 J. H. Ewing Flat Iron for Farthing (1873) vii. 67 Polly and I had nothing to do.., which led us into the very reprehensible habit of ‘playing at houses’ in Uncle Ascott's gorgeously furnished pew.
1871 J. H. Ewing Flat Iron for Farthing (1873) vii. 71 You know we couldn't play houses in the church where papa goes.
1957 J. Kirkup Only Child ix. 120 If..the weather was fine, we would be allowed to have tea in our tent, and to play houses with the fireside things.
1968 Sun (Baltimore) 18 Sept. B7/8 He's tried several times to get me to go to his apartment. I've always refused... I'm not ready to play house yet.
2006 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 26 July a16/5 Children playing with blocks, splashing at water tables, dressing up in costumes or playing house.
h. to break up (a) house: see to break up 4 at break v. Phrasal verbs.
P5. Following a noun, with of.
a. lady of the house: see lady n. Phrases 1a(a).
b.
son of the house n. the son of a family, esp. the oldest or only boy.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinship group > family > [noun] > family or household > son or daughter of household
son of the house1529
daughter of the house1607
1529 S. Fish tr. H. Bomelius Summe Holye Script. ix. sig. F.iii The sonne of the house serveth hys father and kepeth his commaundementes not to haue wages but for loue that he hath vnto hys father.
1631 B. Jonson New Inne sig. (*)5 The Lady..borrowes..the Hosts sonne of the house, whom they dresse..like a Lady.
1796 W. Tooke tr. C. M. Wieland Private Hist. Peregrinus Proteus II. 57 Five or six other brisk young lads..who, as the sons of the house, seemed emulous to shew us that we were hospitably received.
1802 C. Wilmot Irish Peer on Continent (1920) 32 Lady Mount Cashal was handed out of the Room by Monsieur l'Abbé Sièyes, and I by Monsieur, the Son of the House.
1926 P. G. Wodehouse Heart of Goof ii. 54 The modern butler..looks like the son of the house.
1992 S. Sontag Volcano Lover ii. i. 122 A village blacksmith's daughter, who had come to London at fourteen as an underhousemaid..[and] was seduced by the son of the house.
c. man of the house: see man n.1 Phrases 2ac.
d.
daughter of the house n. the daughter of a family, esp. the oldest or only girl.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinship group > family > [noun] > family or household > son or daughter of household
son of the house1529
daughter of the house1607
1607 E. Grimeston tr. S. Goulart Admirable & Memorable Hist. 109 He..sent the seruant to fetch some fish and then hee beganne to intreate the Daughter of the house..to drawe him some wine.
1786 European Mag. & London Rev. Dec. 341/1 The daughter of the house, holding a ewer full of water mixed with rose-water, presents it to wash with.
1834 T. De Quincey S. T. Coleridge in Tait's Edinb. Mag. Oct. 591/1 This cottage offered the accommodations of an inn... The daughter of the house..acted as waiter.
1968 ‘D. Torr’ Treason Line 30 The daughter of the house, a slim, petite girl.
2004 Times Lit. Suppl. 2 Apr. 13/1 He takes a room as a lodger. The moment he sees the daughter of the house, he is lost.
e. woman of the house: see woman n. Phrases 2g.
P6. the house that —— built: used to attribute the success or creation of something to the specified person or thing.With allusion to the children's rhyme ‘This is the House that Jack Built’: see quot. 1707.Sometimes as part of an extended adaptation of the full rhyme: see quot. 1784.
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1707 J. Stevens tr. Life Estevanillo Gonzales vi, in Spanish Libertines 370 It is just like the Tale the Children tell of, This is the Stick that beat the Dog, the Dog that bit the Cat, the Cat that kill'd the Mouse, the Mouse that eat the Malt, the Malt that lay in the House that Jack built.]
1784 J. Hartley Hist. Westm. Election 286 Mr. Wilkes. This is the Patriot covered with scorn, that flattered the Scot by all forsworn, that wedded the maiden all forlorn, that..killed the rat, that eat the malt, that lay in the house that George [sc. George Nugent Grenville, Earl Temple] built.
1869 Western Temperance Herald 1 Oct. 157/1 The Almshouse: This is the house that rum built.
1907 Cent. Mag. May 162/1 This is the Locke, who..guarded the substances, mind and matter, that lay in the House that Descartes built.
1927 Los Angeles Times 4 Jan. ii. 13/6 The final shot showed a picture of the Yankee Stadium with a banner attached labeled ‘The House That Ruth Built’.
2004 P. Biskind Down & Dirty Pictures i. 35 Carolco..was eager to shed the image of being the house that Rambo built.
P7. not a dry eye in the house: see dry eye n. 1.
P8. hyperbolical. In similative and figurative phrases, as the type of something (excessively) large, wide, etc., as as big as a house, as fat as a house, etc.
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a1816 G. Hardinge in J. Nichols Illustr. Lit. Hist. 18th Cent. (1818) IV. 37 Higgledy-piggledy, in they came.—Fanny well drest; and, though big as a house, in very good looks.
1877 Hagerstown (Maryland) Mail 16 Nov. 6/1 The bride's trunks, as big as houses, every one of 'em.
1942 Boston Globe 15 Mar. 42/3 You can be fat as a house and still not be well fed.
1945 M. Gellhorn Let. 29 July in Sel. Lett. (2006) 177 She's not a mean woman at all; probably has a heart the size of a house and solid gold.
1980 B. Plain Random Winds 404 These muffins! I'd be as fat as a house if I lived with you!
1993 St. Louis (Missouri) Post-Dispatch (Nexis) 12 Feb. 2 f I was 8½ months pregnant with my first child and was as big as a house.
2011 E. Doucett What They don't teach You in Libr. School 63 I set a timetable for myself to determine when I will address the issue. This keeps me from avoiding something until it gets to be the size of a house.
P9. house-to-house: (of an action) performed or carried on from house to house in succession. Hence as noun: this process; a house-to-house visit, search, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > [adjective] > successive or following one after another > from one house or shop to another
house-to-house1844
shop to shop1888
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > [noun] > house-to-house collection, search, etc.
house-to-house1936
1844 Chambers's Edinb. Jrnl. 26 Oct. 264/2 Referring to a house-to-house visitation of Mr Weld,..he mentions that there were in the parish 1465 families.
1893 Times 27 Apr. 7/2 A house to house canvass by the registrar would be far cheaper.
1936 ‘F. O'Connor’ Bones of Contention 37 We'll make a house-to-house.
1970 R. Rendell Guilty Thing Surprised xii. 142 Three of us have done a house-to-house in Myfleet.
1977 J. Johnston Shadows on our Skin 157 The army came in at each end of the street..and began a house-to-house search.
2008 Private Eye 8 Aug. 4/1 The local Knackers couldn't spend more time pursuing house-to-house inquiries after the girl's disappearance.
P10. house full: an announcement posted outside a place of entertainment to indicate to the public that there is no room available. Also in extended use, of other objects and events that are or have been sold out. Frequently attributive, as house full sign, house full notice, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > theatrical equipment or accessories > [noun] > announcement indicating house sold out
house full1864
1864 Le Follet Oct. 520/2 Each part has been carefully and appropriately cast;..the result is that Mr. Vining has constantly to write up ‘house full’.
1898 J. Hollingshead Gaiety Chron. ii. 115 No ‘house full’ boards were exhibited outside the theatre.
1906 Daily Chron. 23 Dec. 3/2 It would be natural to suppose that the book trade this Christmas has been a ‘house full’ affair.
1914 Aeroplane 2 Sept. 211/1 Both Services have practically put up the ‘House Full’ sign, and have a waiting list yards in length.
2004 D. Lodge Author, Author ii. viii. 183 It was no surprise that The Second Mrs Tanqueray was widely acclaimed by the critics and that ‘House Full’ notices soon appeared outside the St James's Theatre.
P11. Originally U.S. on the house: at the expense of or paid for by the management of a public house, bar, restaurant, or the like (see A. 4b).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > [adverb] > at expense of tavern
on the house1934
1934 J. A. Lee Children of Poor (1949) 26 ‘I must have a drink.’ ‘Here, have one on the house.’
1958 M. Dickens Man Overboard xiii. 214 Laundry and cleaning were on the house.
1994 Caterer & Hotelkeeper 2 June (Chef Suppl.) 14/2 If they can name each leaf in their salad they can have the meal on the house.
2009 Ireland's Eye Jan. 35/2 The mourners welcomed me with offers of various refreshments. As the drinks were on the house, everyone was in great form.
P12. Gambling (originally U.S.). In various phrases indicating that the odds in most games favour the casino, as the house always wins, the house never loses, etc. Also in extended use.Sometimes as part of an extended metaphor.
ΚΠ
1892 Chicago Tribune 30 Jan. 13/5 A species of petty gambling where the ‘house’ always wins.
1924 Amer. Mercury Sept. 114/1 The healers send them around to this Eddyite of the sporting past. He alone knows how to shuffle the metaphysical cards so that the house always wins.
1947 San Mateo (Calif.) Times 14 July 6/3 Casinos may lose money on certain days... But over the long stretch the house never loses.
1977 Cincinnati Mag. July /1 You can't beat the house very long. Most full-time speculators eventually lose their shirts.
1991 S. T. H. Bruyn Future for Amer. Econ. 126 In Las Vegas, the house always wins.
2008 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 31 May d8 She had fought a courageous battle against cancer... But the odds were against her, and the house always wins in the end.
P13. built like a brick house: see brick n.1 and adj.1 Phrases 5.
P14. British (chiefly Law). house in (also of) multiple occupation (also occupancy): a house or other dwelling inhabited by two or more households; (now) spec. one belonging to a class of premises which have some element of shared accommodation and are subject to specific licensing regulations. Abbreviated HMO.
ΚΠ
1911 Cost of Living in Amer. Towns 12 in Parl. Papers (Cd. 5609) LXXXVIII. 253 Above Central Park the Avenue is still mainly residential in character.., and further north houses in multiple occupation are reached.
1955 Population Stud. 8 290 For houses in multiple occupation much depends therefore upon the extent to which physical conversion has taken place.
1960 Hansard Commons (Electronic ed.) 2 May 815 The hon. Member also spoke about the deplorable condition of houses in multiple occupation in London and elsewhere.
1971 Times 19 May 17/4 Eighty per cent of deaths from fire..occur in the home, and an increasing number in houses of multiple occupancy.
1995 Northern Echo (Nexis) 15 Sept. Darlington Council backs calls for a national licensing system for Houses of Multiple Occupation.
2009 J. Farley All Law you should Know xi. 166 The manager of a house in multiple occupation has responsibilities..to carry out repair, maintenance and cleaning work.

Compounds

C1. attributive, with sense ‘of or belonging to a house’ (chiefly in sense A. 1a).Such compounds are readily formed, and only some are illustrated here; more established compounds are given separately, at Compounds 10 or as main entries.
a. That forms part of, or is an adjunct to, a house.
house-back n.
ΚΠ
1896 A. Morrison Child of Jago 305 Black housebacks crowded them round.
1948 C. Day Lewis Otterbury Incident 69 Between this path and the house-backs there are some small yards.
1991 Guardian (Nexis) 1 June On my way to Hastings, looking at the passing housebacks and contemplating sheds.
house bell n.
ΚΠ
1620 tr. G. Boccaccio Decameron I. i. i. f. 12v The honest Friar..by sound of the house Bell, caused all the Brethren to assemble together.
1751 Virginia Gaz. 8 Aug. Curious Brass Fenders and Fire Dogs, House Bells of all Sizes.
a1817 J. Austen Northanger Abbey (1818) II. xiii. 249 The loud noise of the house-bell . View more context for this quotation
1834 Chambers's Edinb. Jrnl. 3 414/1 He rung the teacher's house-bell.
1921 W. de la Mare Crossings 88 The far-away house-bell clangs into the room.
1953 A. Bester Demolished Man ii. 32 The house-bell chimed. Powell glanced at his watch in surprise.
1997 Tampa (Florida) Tribune (Nexis) 26 Aug. (Baylife section) 3 All the house bells were inside the enclosed stoop.
house brick n.
ΚΠ
1800 J. Thomson Gen. View Agric. in Fife i. 39 Besides clay of excellent quality for making house bricks and tyles to any extent, a species of clay has been found, proper for the purpose of making fire-bricks.
1935 Times 15 May 8/5 Among unusual exhibits are..house bricks in red, white, and blue for Jubilee year.
2002 J. Simpson Beckoning Silence (2004) 58 We can stay up on the lightest breezes when before we would have dropped like a house brick.
house drain n.
ΚΠ
1774 Proc. Governor & Council Fort William xvi. 138 The Space or Ground occupied by the House Drain of One Man.
1897–8 Kalendar Royal Inst. Brit. Archit. 278 Ventilation of house-drains.
1944 G. E. Mitchell in R. Greenhalgh Pract. Builder vi. 230/1 So far as house drains are concerned, the separate system almost doubles the drainage cost as compared with the combined method.
2002 R. D. Treloar Plumbing: Heating & Gas Installations (ed. 2) viii. 314 The house drain is connected to a septic tank with a natural drainage irrigation trench.
house eaves n.
ΚΠ
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Psalms ci. 7 I am maad as a nyȝt rauen in the hous euese.
a1425 Medulla Gram. (Stonyhurst) f. 22 An house euese.
1585 J. Higgins tr. Junius Nomenclator 210/2 Deliquiæ,..water boords, or weather bordes: gutters whereinto the house eaues doe drop.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) iii. i. 434 Sparrowes must not build in his house-eeues . View more context for this quotation
1741 R. Challoner Mem. Missionary Priests I. 64 Such an extreme Thirst, that he essayed to catch with his Hatt the drops of Rain from the House Eaves.
1801 J. Watt Let. 9 Jan. in J. P. Muirhead Origin & Progress Mech. Invent. J. Watt (1854) II. 272 One fell from a house-eaves, fifteen feet high.
1994 Guideposts Aug. 27/1 I saw the corner of the house eaves punch in my windshield.
† house eavesing n. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1547 W. Salesbury Dict. Eng. & Welshe Bargawt tuy, house eusing.
house-end n.
ΚΠ
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 249 With him, me thocht, all the hous end he towk.
1682 J. Bunyan Holy War 285 Nor had he stood long under the house-end . View more context for this quotation
1894 A. B. Gomme Trad. Games I. 238 A street game played by boys in a town, one of them hiding behind a wall or house-end.
1990 Times Educ. Suppl. 2 Nov. (Review section) 3/3 Those who had left school at 14 and had never done more than kick a ball against a house-end.
house front n.
ΚΠ
1683 J. Reid Scots Gard'ner i. iii. 10 On the line of the House-front set off a perpendicular, to find the central line.
1771 A. Burns Geodæsia Improved i. x. 228 Lay down 20 Chains, 10 Links, as before, from A towards B,..through which a Wall passeth in a Line with the House Front.
1838 C. Dickens Oliver Twist III. xlviii. 239 House-fronts projecting over the pavement.
1905 Westm. Gaz. 12 Dec. 9/1 The house-fronts of miles and miles of London streets are entirely carried on iron girders.
2009 T. Hadley in New Yorker 12 Oct. 107/1 The semi-detached house fronts were festooned with nostalgic wisteria.
house gate n.
ΚΠ
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. v. 227 The dead Body..was..set in a Bed by the House Gate.
1796 C. Tomkins Tour Isle of Wight 32 Going to the right when you return from the quay, you pass God's house-gate, and approach South-gate.
1842 Asiatic Jrnl. & Monthly Reg. 38 i. 177 The house gates were then closed, and were in a little time surrounded by Ameen Oollab Khan and his rabble.
1919 Dict. Apostolic Church I. 587/2 The house-gate was naturally kept locked in troublous times.
2009 Tel. & Argus (Bradford) (Nexis) 27 Apr. He ploughed the Vauxhall Tigra though a house gate in Leeds Road.
house gutter n.
ΚΠ
?a1500 Nominale (Yale Beinecke 594) in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 800/20 Hoc stellocidum,..a howsegoter.
1852 Jrnl. Agric. (Boston) Oct. 98/1 The fixing of the house-gutters and the clearing out of spouts is one of the penances of the house-holder.
1914 Bulletin (U. S. Bureau of Mines) 46 The advisability of putting house gutters on a miner's cottage depends upon whether the streets are paved.
2010 Townsville Bull. (Austral.) (Nexis) 11 Feb. 2 A victim with a broken leg, dangling precariously from a house gutter.
house-plot n.
ΚΠ
1633 in New Eng. Hist. Geneal. Reg. 51 (1897) 172 Nathaniel Woodward and John shall have House plots assigned them the 18 Dec. 1637.
1815 Rep. Income & Expenditure 80 in Rep. Comm. & Commissioners Ireland VI. These House-Plots and Houses, which, to prevent their being let run to ruin, a mode [etc.].
1905 A. R. Sennett Garden Cities I. iv. 231 Continuing eastwards of this road we find a block of house-plots, 150 in number.
2001 Oxoniensia 65 2 Groups of house-plots attached on a regular basis to particular types of holdings can be traced only..from the 13th [century].
house roof n.
ΚΠ
OE tr. Felix St. Guthlac (Vesp.) (1909) xi. 145 He þa Wilfrið mid gyrde of þam huses hrofe þa glofe geræhte.]
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1905) II. 523 (MED) Þai lifte his bodie vp into þe howse-rufe, & lete it fall oftsithis.
?a1563 W. Baldwin Beware Cat (1584) iii. sig. Giv At a little hole in the house roof, [she] peeped in and saw me.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. xix. v. 15 They [sc. cucumbers] would be..climbing up to the house roofe, if they can meet with any rough places to take hold by.
1786 J. Norman Town & Country Builder's Assistant x. 14/1 To framing brick house roofs with a flat on the top 8s per square.
1860 S. Smiles Self-help (new ed.) viii. 209 Sitting astride of a house-roof.
1997 R. Tremain Way I found Her (1998) iii. 333 To get on to the barn roof from the lower point of the house roof involved a drop of approximately three metres.
house side n.
ΚΠ
1541 M. Coverdale tr. H. Bullinger Christen State Matrimonye f. xxviv Thy wyfe is as a frutefull vyne that standeth by thy house syde.
1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. i. 52 Vines..planted by an house-side.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 67 Steep as a House-side.
1846 W. Greener Sci. Gunnery (new ed.) 300 We have seen experiments made with those gases, have a friend who lost an eye and blew down a house side.
1937 Amer. Home Apr. 24/2 The border extending along the house side at the left was raised and backed with a retaining wall.
2002 Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) (Nexis) 25 Oct. He opened his back door and..one of the men, who was standing against the house side, warned him [etc.].
house site n.
ΚΠ
1834 Let. 18 Oct. in J. Mathison Counsel for Emigrants (1838) 90 The banks generally high and affording many fine house sites.
1949 M. Mead Male & Female ii. 40 Considerations..that one would normally consider in choosing a house-site.
2004 Log Home Design Jan. 32 Find out what utilities exist and where they are located. Then think about how they will get to your house site.
house tile n.
ΚΠ
1420–1 in V. Harding & L. Wright London Bridge: Sel. Accts. (1995) 102 [For making 10,000] houstyll.
1647 H. Jessey Exceeding Riches of Grace 128 There being a window to the House-tiles, she crept out,..and in the dark she saw there a fire.
1762 O. Goldsmith Citizen of World II. lxvii. 24 The first omen of success that he met was a broken mug; digging still deeper, he turns up a house tile, quite new and entire.
1856 W. L. Lindsay Pop. Hist. Brit. Lichens 35 In a scale-like or house-tile-like manner.
2007 S. Hershman House Colors 21 If you have a cool blue house, steer away from selecting a cool blue house tile.
house wall n.
ΚΠ
a1556 N. Udall Ralph Roister Doister (?1566) iv. vii. sig. H.j What caitifes are those that so shake my house wall?
1755 J. Smeaton Diary 6 July in Journey to Low Countries (1938) 44 The common thickness of house walls being no more than the length of a Dutch brick.
1837 B. D. Walsh tr. Aristophanes Acharnians i. iv, in Comedies 21 Scribbling On the house-walls.
1950 Endeavour 9 143/1 Algae may cause serious trouble..on house walls.
2005 Gardenlife Oct. 66/2 The house walls needed breaking up, so plenty of climbers found their way into the planting plan.
house window n.
ΚΠ
1577 R. Willes & R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Hist. Trauayle W. & E. Indies f. 223 Laden shippes rise very neere to the land, and in maner vnder the house windowes.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) i. vi. sig. E2v With..shot from corners of streats, and house windowes.
1784 J. Cullum Hist. & Antiq. Hawsted in Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica No. 23. 135 A monkey sitting in a house window, and scattering money.
1886 J. Ruskin Præterita II. v. 162 Penthouses..to keep the plash of heavy rain from the house windows.
2001 A. H. Creel Magic of Ordinary Days (2002) xxxiii. 265 I remember making my way back through a soup of snow, seeing the lights coming from the house windows.
house wiring n.
ΚΠ
1884 G. B. Prescott Dynamo-electricity iii. 218 The catch box plugs which connect the house wiring with the street.
1963 Times 6 May p. vii/2 The traditional type of housewiring involved separate circuits for the different kinds of load.
1995 M. Lawrence et al. Which? Guide Home Safety & Security i. 60 Do not carry out any work on your house wiring unless you are confident that you know what you are doing.
b. With sense ‘that is used or kept in a house’.
(a) Designating objects, implements, furnishings, etc.
house broom n.
ΚΠ
1760 Invoice 28 Sept. in G. Washington Papers (1988) VI. 462 6 House Brooms.
1823 J. Badcock Domest. Amusem. 168 Lime-wash..applied..with a brush or house-broom.
1921 R. E. Ramsay Effective Direct Advertising vii. 181 They may also decide to add to their regular line of house brooms a whisk-broom for clothes.
2004 P. Plamondon Lost from Ottawa v. 76 They had them [sc. the brooms] boxed. House brooms were five to a box.
house brush n.
ΚΠ
1735 J. Barrow Dict. Polygraphicum II. at Med Lay..a piece of a round turn'd stick over that place, such as is us'd in the staff of a house-brush.
1892 N.Y. Daily Tribune 21 Aug. 15/4 There are very few things that are more vexatious to a good housekeeper than a poorly-made house brush.
1998 Independent (Nexis) 18 Feb. (Features section) 3 They were completing their task with a house-brush..when the unfortunate householder returned.
house clock n.
ΚΠ
1649 C. Hoole Easie Entrance Lat. Tongue 151/2 An hous-clock, Horologium cubiculáre.
1658 Mercurius Politicus No. 439. 929 (advt.) [It] is very excellent for all House clocks that go either with Springs or Waights: And also Steeple Clocks that are most subject to differ by change of weather.
1690 London Gaz. No. 2578/4 A Large House-Clock..is now in the hands of Jonathan Puller.
1760 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy I. 12 On the first Sunday night of every month..to wind up a large house-clock, which we had standing on the back-stairs head.
1847 H. Miller First Impressions Eng. vii. 126 One of his companions..set forward the house-clock.
1962 E. Bruton Dict. Clocks & Watches (1963) 92 House Clock. Early name for a domestic or chamber clock.
2006 Variety (Nexis) 23 Oct. 30 Big Ben contains elements from a house clock, a washing machine and cups, among other items.
house cloth n.
ΚΠ
1626 Deloney's Pleasant Hist. Iohn Winchcomb (rev. ed.) sig. Giij [They] put an housecloath about his necke in stead of a fine towell.
1760 H. Glasse Servant's Direct. i. 30 Hot water will freeze sooner on the Boards than cold, if it is not very well dry'd up with a House-cloth.
1853 L. E. Stuart Let. 17 Jan. in R. Stuart et al. Stuart Lett. (1961) I. 452 I have not a house cloth, scrubbing brush, or anything of the kind in the house.
1934 H. G. Wells Exper. in Autobiogr. I. iv. 149 Rolls of crash, house cloth, ticking and the like.
1994 O. Giarini in C. Carraro et al. Environmental Managem. i. 113 An old cotton sheet has still a long life as a house-cloth, whereas a disposable..cloth is much less suitable for secondary utilization.
house flannel n.
ΚΠ
1831 J. Amesbury Pract. Remarks Fractures Trunk I. iv. 343 If what is called coarse house-flannel be employed, from six to eight layers will be required.
1868 M. E. Braddon Birds of Prey (new ed.) i. i. 2 Her door-steps, whereon were expended much labour and hearthstone—not to mention house-flannel.
1998 Bristol Evening Post (Nexis) 19 June Most people washed at the kitchen sink... There were plenty of..scrubbing brushes about, and always a cloth that was always referred to as the house flannel.
house linen n.
ΚΠ
1748 G. van Neck Will in London Mag. (1750) Sept. 412/2 I give moreover to the said Mrs. Du la Mon..all my house linen, whether in my house in London or in Putney.
1857 E. C. Gaskell Let. 7 Dec. (1966) 492 Then we came home; and have been desperately busy ever since, looking over stores, and clothes, and house-linen, and preserves.
1905 Westm. Gaz. 8 Nov. 5/2 No arrangements had been made for her reception. There was no silver, no house-linen.
2009 Sentinel & Enterprise (Fitchburg, Mass.) (Nexis) 28 May New this year..a whole room of consignment clothing, bedding, curtains, house linens and home décor.
houseplant n.
ΚΠ
1824 H. Phillips Flora Historica II. 276 The Fuchsia is found to grow with greater luxuriance in the open air, than when nursed as a house plant.
1873 Young Englishwoman Nov. 562/2 Those who have cultivated house plants for years.
1970 D. Bartrum Exotic Plants for Home ii. 29 All the house plants we buy from the florists are amenable to pot culture.
2006 Gardens Monthly Apr. 79 Every windowsill is choc-a-block with cuttings and houseplants.
(b) Designating clothing worn in the house.
house boot n.
ΚΠ
1652 R. Verney Let. in M. M. Verney Mem. Verney Family Commonwealth (1894) ii. 46 Sir Ralph is much taken with some ‘old men's house boots’, called Scarfaroni.
1869 A. Trollope He knew he was Right xvii. 58 She changed the light house-boots she had on for a pair of stout walking-shoes.
1914 J. Joyce Dubliners 123 Then she took off her working skirt and her house-boots.
1998 Independent (Nexis) 15 Nov. 42 He found it amusing that I was actually contemplating sheepskin houseboots.
house frock n.
ΚΠ
1843 London & Paris Ladies' Mag. Sept. 71/1 The house frocks of muslin..generally of the form Anglaise with braid trimmings.
1885 S. O. Jewett Marsh Island x. 131 He did not like her best clothes..so well as her plain house-frocks.
1925 Sears, Roebuck Catal. Spring–Summer 28/2 A neat, trim gingham house or porch frock is an asset to every woman's wardrobe.
1994 P. Powell Small Gathering of Bones 36 The woman in front him was..tall and stately in a bright yellow house frock.
house gown n.
ΚΠ
1828 Lairds of Fife II. vi. 110 I never before saw any [boot] shape so exactly resembling a coffin:..and that Angola house-gown of hers, sweeping over it like a pall.
1896 Westm. Gaz. 23 Apr. 3/3 Alpaca makes a practical and pretty house-gown.
1933 E. Ferber They brought their Women 55 She was bored with the everlasting dinners..and the velvet house gowns.
2006 Palm Beach Post (Florida) (Nexis) 26 Sept. 1 a She is wearing a house gown my mother bought for her years ago.
house jacket n.
ΚΠ
1847 People's Jrnl. 3 306/1 During his absence, his slippers had been put before the fire; his house jacket hung on the back of his chair.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xv. [Circe] 436 In housejacket of ripplecloth.
1993 Evening Standard (Nexis) 16 June 10 He has a complete Arab outfit,..a Japanese house jacket; a South American peasant garment.
house shoe n.
ΚΠ
1849 Sartain's Mag. 5 45 A carriage full of dogs;..each dog provided with a pair of houseshoes, for which his carriage boots were changed on his return.
a1854 E. Grant Mem. Highland Lady (1988) II. xxv. 197 It was amusing to see us in our house-shoes—old satin slippers of all colours patched at the sides.
1892 Pall Mall Gaz. 22 Aug. 1/3 Ladies in their house-shoes and light dresses.
1985 T. Angus et al. Canadians All 5 xviii. 100 Her soft, kid-leather house shoes..gave her feet no protection.
2003 V. O. Carter Such Sweet Thunder 156 Slip your feet in those big old house shoes.
house slipper n.
ΚΠ
1844 Mechanics' Mag. 13 Jan. 42/1 Cozy folks, who comfortably envelope their feet in warm cloth, carpet, or worsted house-slippers.
1965 B. Sweet-Escott Baker St. Irregular vi. 161 His feet encased in a pair of black velvet house-slippers embroidered in white with the letters ‘A.E.’
2003 F. McAuslan & M. Norman Rough Guide to Cuba (ed. 2) 441 The entire neighbourhood, many still dressed in hair curlers and house slippers, leave their houses.
c. Belonging to or connected with a house or household; performed or carried on in the house; domestic.
house affairs n.
ΚΠ
1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 853 Women ordinarily, when their husbands be away and from home, have many petie businesses and house affaires.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) i. iii. 146 Still the house affaires would draw her thence. View more context for this quotation
1740 tr. C. de F. de Mouhy Fortunate Country Maid II. 136 I..then gave Directions in the House Affairs; I was no Novice in them..and knew something of Oeconomy.
1862 D. G. Rossetti Let. 22 Feb. (1965) II. 443 House-affairs get still further complicated.
2006 S. Da et al. tr. T. Yangdzom Aristocratic Families in Tibetan Hist. iii. 54 Wangchuk took charge of the house affairs of the separated Shatra family.
house business n.
ΚΠ
a1640 W. Fenner Divine Message to Elect Soule (1647) 18 If thy mind and meditation run more on thy ground, cattell, goods, kitchin, house busines,..more then of heaven, thy end is destruction.
1669 A. Woodhead tr. Life St. Teresa (1671) ii. xxx. 189 Humble and desirous of doing all the House-business.
1791 in M. F. G.-B. Giner & M. Montgomery Knaresborough Workhouse Daybk. (2003) 93 Mary Outhwit doing house bisness.
1811 M. Leadbeater Cottage Dialogues 39 The truth is, my mistress was never in the way of doing house business herself, and so she does not know what a servant should do.
1999 R. Polt tr. H. Pollatschek Let. in Thousand Kisses 158 It is unlikely that Irma will get away at all, since her house business is still not in order.
house-caring n.
ΚΠ
1880 H. C. St. John Wild Coasts Nipon 224 Their younger sisters..go about their duties of house-caring and nursing.
1997 M. Djingui in E. E. Rosander Transforming Female Identities iv. 226 Women will become aware of the importance..of their culinary knowledge..and of house-caring.
house clearance n.
ΚΠ
1921 N.Y. Tribune 27 Mar. iv. 7/3 Before a drastic house clearance there should be a family conclave and general agreement as to what must go.
2003 S. Mackay Heligoland (2004) iii. 26 Crabb's Antiques suffers from its location... The proprietor..does house clearances for the relatives of dead perverts.
house design n.
ΚΠ
1814 Gentleman's Mag. Dec. 549/1 The house design is divided into three great parts by Corinthian pilasters.
1938 Amer. Home Jan. 32/2 Who can deny Ohio's great contribution in this field of house design?
2005 L. Berelowitz Dream City xii. 200 It was also one of the first house designs to explore what came to be known as West Coast post-and-beam construction.
† house education n. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 2 My Father, who was very ancient, had given me a competent Share of Learning, as far as House-Education, and a Country Free-School generally goes, and design'd me for the Law.
house decoration n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > decorating and painting > [noun]
house decorationc1793
interior decoration1807
decoration1844
decorating1877
c1793 tr. F. de S. de La Mothe-Fénelon Adventures Telemachus II. xii. 124 He fix'd the dress, the diet, furniture, House decorations, and precedency.
1868 W. Sutherland Pract. Guide Ho. Decoration 12 Stencil patterns play a very important part in house decoration.
1914 W. Owen Let. 11 Aug. (1967) 276 She has an important business..selling House Decorations, Embroideries, and so on.
2000 J. Goodwin Danny Boy iv. 80 His house decoration courtesy of too much acid:..swirly pictures, smiley faces and magic mushrooms covered the walls.
house expense n.
ΚΠ
1646 W. Courten Let. 11 Aug. in G. Carew Fraud & Violence detected (1662) 131 The Steward shall keep his books of house expence at large, and bring in the Weeks charge thereof unto the Accomptant to be entred in his Jornal and Lidger.
1765 T. Dilworth Young Book-keeper's Assistant 61 (note) A Continuation of the House-Expenses is needless; since enough has been said already to inform the Judgment of the Learner.
1863 Harper's New Monthly Mag. 26 686/2 If her house expenses perplexed her, it is certain that her table expenses..[were] to her a profound secret and mystery.
2001 M. M. Shenkman & W. Boroson How to Buy House 14 One-third of your monthly take-home pay supports the following amount of monthly house expenses.
† house-hire n. Obsolete
ΚΠ
c1330 in T. Wright Polit. Songs Eng. (1839) 330 For hous-hire ne for clothes he ne carez noht.
1425–6 in J. A. Kingdon Arch. Worshipful Company of Grocers (1886) I. 159 To Richard Burton for howse hire for a ȝer.
1681 T. Delaune Pres. State London 276 To Arrest for House-hire before the Day, if the Tenant be Fugitive.
1752 W. Beawes Lex Mercatoria Rediviva 557 There are many Cases in which Letters of Respite..are not to be obtained, viz. for..Medicines, House-hire, Crops of Corn, Servants Wages, [etc.].
1851 Acct. 7 Nov. in Jrnls Legislative Assembly Province Canada 15 (1857) Appendix No. 43 For house-hire and fuel in the Parish of St Prosper, of £3 18s. 4d.
1904 A. W. Flux Econ. Princ. xviii. 291 Circumstances hinder the perfect establishment of a market price for house-hire.
house insurance n.
ΚΠ
1844 Dict. Trade, Commerce, & Navigation at Insurance Insurance of property against fire on land, called house insurance, or Fire Insurance.
1917 Chicago Tribune 10 July 6/6 In taking out house insurance against fire is it best to be in two companies or one?
1995 M. Lawrence et al. Which? Guide Home Safety & Security iv. 188 The markets for car insurance and house insurance are especially competitive.
house key n.
ΚΠ
1785 H. Swinburne Trav. in Two Sicilies II. 104 Here was found the skeleton of the master with the house key and a purse of gold.
1866 H. James Landscape Painter in Atlantic Monthly Feb. 196/1 We will..put the house-key in our pocket.
2004 N.Y. Daily News (Nexis) 19 Aug. (Sports Final ed.) 26 He opened the back door with his house key.
house-life n.
ΚΠ
1865 R. Burton Let. 30 July in Fraser's Mag. (1866) Aug. 178/2 I was much refreshed..by this ‘outing’. House-life was becoming very wearisome.
1995 D. Aslett Pet Clean-up Made Easy (ed. 2) Introd. p. xi You can always count on them to make houselife more exciting than the weekly dusting of the piano.
house money n.
ΚΠ
1834 Chambers's Edinb. Jrnl. 19 Apr. 89/2 She knows..how much house-money every one of them is allowed.
1850 J. W. Carlyle Lett. II. 135 My house-money is utterly done.
1911 Sandusky (Ohio) Reg. 20 Sept. 4/6 Our house money is kept in the cracked teapot on the platerail in the dining room.
2002 V. Villaseñor Thirteen Senses xiii. 333 You don't have to be asking me if you can spend a little money here or there, you have your house money, remember.
house move n.
ΚΠ
1907 E. M. Waller tr. A. Dumas Mem. I. iii. v. 290 During a house-move he was worth his weight in gold: he would carry trunks, sideboards, bedsteads, tables, on his head.
1961 Times 17 Aug. 11/2 Rearranging my books..after a house-move.
2005 Loot 13 Dec. (Liverpool ed.) 16/4 (advt.) Garage Sale, sale due to house move, 3 piece leather suite.
house paint n.
ΚΠ
1802 Monthly Mag. Jan. 581/1 House-paint, in which the lead has been re-vivified and blackened by foul vapours, recovers in the light its whiteness.
1902 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 13 Sept. 743/2 In the case of ordinary house paint the taste of lead in the mouth after exposure to a newly painted room is known to all of us.
2010 L. M. Schroder & V. Ogletree Adobe Homes for all Climates xxiv. 169 The exterior of this adobe home..has been painted using ordinary house paint.
house plan n.
ΚΠ
1810 Monthly Mag. Sept. 125/1 A mere house-plan, of common taste and decoration.
1920 J. M. Gibbon Conquering Hero x. 174 She produced a page illustrated with a bungalow design, showing a house plan of three bedrooms, living room, dining room, bath-room and kitchen.
2007 Birmingham Evening Mail (Nexis) 27 Mar. (Staffordshire ed.) 7 All house plans were to be approved by the principal architect.
house price n.
ΚΠ
1902 H. Quilter What's What 612/2 House prices have remained stationary, or in the case of extra large houses, fallen.
2008 Independent 4 Apr. (Extra section) 4/1 Some economists are predicting house prices could drop by between 15 per cent and 30 per cent in the next few years.
house purchase n.
ΚΠ
1844 Illuminated Mag. 2 91/2 His success in the matter of the house-purchase put him upon further speculations in that way.
1907 M. Kaufman Housing of Working Classes & Poor xii. 135 This form of house purchase is connected with life insurance,..to enable the widows and children to become owners of the house on the demise of the borrower.
2002 CGI Nov. 18/3 I remember breezing through my last house purchase without so much as a quickening of the pulse.
house service n.
ΚΠ
1811 W. Thom Hist. Aberdeen I. iv. 84 The convalescent male patients are employed in gardening, and the females in spinning flax, or in house-service.
1881 W. Besant & J. Rice Chaplain of Fleet I. ii. 26 House-service is no disgrace to a gentlewoman.
1917 Granite Monthly Feb. 25/2 Every employment plant in the city was represented, including stenographers, clerks, saleswomen, teachers, nurses, and those in house service.
2007 A. E. Kaye Joining Places iii. 85 Slaves and owners agreed house service was rightly the province of families with long-standing ties to master, mistress, or their kin.
housetalk n.
ΚΠ
1683 R. Baxter Dying Thoughts 91 It will be their House talk, their Shop talk, their Street talk, if not their Church talk, that such a one is an Erroneous, dangerous Man.
1854 R. W. Emerson Soc. Aims in Wks. (1906) III. 174 In their games and in their house-talk.
1996 E. Aries Men & Women in Interaction vi. 162 Housetalk for women can be taken to be equivalent to shoptalk for men.
d. Of persons: of, belonging to, or associated with a house or household; living in, or working in or around, a house.
house chaplain n.
ΚΠ
1637 T. Morton New Eng. Canaan ii. x. 122 This man Master Bubble was in the time of Iohn Oldams absence made the howse Chaplaine there.
1719 G. Jacob Poet. Reg. II. 40 He was Educated at Eton, and from thence Elected to the University of Cambridge, and is now House Chaplain of the Royal Palace.
1801 Crit. Rev. 23 327 We have no private chapel in the house itself, nor the useless expense of a house-chaplain.
2000 Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario) (Nexis) 23 Dec. e10 He [sc. Tyndale] began his ministry as house chaplain to Sir John Walsh.
house child n.
ΚΠ
1605 W. Camden Remaines 65 Osbern, Sax. House-childe, as Filius familiàs.
1887 J. C. Frémont Memoirs 20 The house-children would scamper off to bed and the visitors make a prompt escape.
1901 St. Nicholas 28 1047/2 The house children got a step-ladder, and peeped into the nest, but did not touch the birds.
2003 H. F. Wolcott Kwakiutl Village & School‎ (new ed.) i. i. 28 The steps act as a barrier to distinguish a house child from a yard child.
housefolk n. [compare Middle Low German hūsvolk, German (now hist.) Hausvolk (1437 as hausfolk)]
ΚΠ
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3139 Euerilc hus-folc ðe mai it ðauen.
a1760 T. Gifford Hist. Descr. Zetland Islands in Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica No. 37 (1786) 92 That none entertain in their families idle persons,..nor such as are called house-folk.
1835 J. P. Kennedy Horse-shoe Robinson I. 167 I have told the house-folks to make ready somewhat in the way of victuals.
1904 F. J. Gould Children's Bk. Moral Lessons 3rd Ser. 26 There was a great outcry among the house-folk, for they think it unlucky to rock an empty cradle.
1988 Washington Post (Nexis) 15 July n18 After several visits by the Rev. Dennis Cahill,..things stopped going bump in the night and peace descended on the Livingston housefolk.
house porter n.
ΚΠ
1705 Let. 6 Jan. in J. Marten True Acct. Venereal Dis. (ed. 4) ii. 112 The Bearer hereof is our House Porter.
1869 Punch 24 July 31/2 Will he bring up my bag? No; the house-porter will do that.
1921 Atlantic Monthly Dec. 844/1 Our old house-porter hung up a battered tea-tray near me, and..told me to bang on the tray if I needed help.
1996 J. Ehrman Younger Pitt III. iii. 94 Williams was for long in his employ as under butler and then house porter.
house priest n.
ΚΠ
?1591 H. Barrow Brief Discouerie False Church 46 Of the seruing sort, are Parsons, Vickars, Curates, hireling Lecturers, vagrant & mercenarie Preachers, house priestes, Chaplens, [etc.].
1784 Amer. Fugitive lv. 244 I myself would have conducted her [to Calais], but being the house-priest, I could not..desert my office.
1886 W. D. Howells Indian Summer xviii. 304 The suave house-priest manners of the young clergyman offended Colville.
1921 E. W. Burlingame tr. Buddhist Legends I. i. 256 Seeing the house-priest returning from the royal residence, he asked him [etc.].
2008 S. F. King Lady Macbeth (2009) xviii. 165 Your father..had me carried to Fife and nursed to health. In return he asked me to be his house priest.
house servant n.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > domestic servant > [noun] > general
house servant1681
maid-of-all-work1801
general1884
1681 T. Delaune & B. Keach Τροπολογία i. 177 The Apostles are called..the house-servants or Stewards of God.
1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1773 I. 394 Our female house servants work much harder than the male.
1882 W. D. Hay Brighter Britain! I. 37 That's a new dairy-maid and house-servant my friend's just engaged.
1966 B. Kimenye Kalasanda Revisited 23 His house servant was away on leave, and the drawbacks of bachelorhood were making themselves acutely felt.
2006 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 23 Feb. 4/3 The only enduring relationship he has had has been with his house servant.
house slave n.
ΚΠ
1738 F. Moore Trav. Inland Afr. 110 Some people have a good many House-Slaves..and they live so well and easy, that it is sometimes a very hard Matter to know the Slaves from their Masters.
1847 C. Ball Life Negro Slave i. 1 in Chambers's Misc. 16 I was designed for a house slave when I should be old enough.
1972 Village Voice (N.Y.) 1 June 24/1 Whitey has always pitted one black against the other. The field slaves and the house slaves.
2008 Wall St. Jrnl. 22 Jan. a6B/2 Class has divided American blacks ever since slave owners divided blacks into field slaves and more favored house slaves.
house steward n.
ΚΠ
1626 J. Florio et al. tr. T. Boccalini New-found Politicke i. 2 House-stewards, and hall-vshers (who are the rough house-breakers of young Courtiers).
1758 S. Johnson Idler 4 Nov. 241 The house steward used to employ me.
1853 E. Bulwer-Lytton My Novel IV. xii. iv. 22 The house-steward withdrew, much surprised and disgusted.
1980 S. W. Martins Great Estate at Work ii. 50 One cook and a roasting cook, one nurse, one house steward, [etc.]
housewear n.
ΚΠ
1868 Monthly Packet Apr. 349 Grousha's feet, protected as they were by thick felt boots over the ordinary bottines of house wear, began to feel the cold in no small degree.
1898 Daily News 10 Jan. 6/5 For housewear it is admirable.
2002 Observer 21 July (Mag.) 30/2 Now 86, Domb shuffles slightly in the slippers that, with his long black satin coat, make up his housewear.
C2. Objective.
† house-bearing adj. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. ii. xxxvii. 441 One [creature] earth-borne, goe-by-grasse, house-bearing,..bloodlesse.
1708 J. Philips Cyder i. 26 Large Shoals of slow House-bearing Snails.
1846 C. MacFarlane Romance of Trav. I. 137 The distance between the wheel-ruts of one of these great house-bearing waggons [was]..twenty feet.
1900 T. G. Gentry Intelligence Plants & Animals 5 (heading) House-bearing reptiles.
house burner n.
ΚΠ
c1275 Kentish Serm. in J. Hall Select. Early Middle Eng. (1920) I. 217 Manslechtes, husberners, bakbiteres, and alle oþre euele deden.
a1450 Form Excommun. (Claud.) in E. Peacock Myrc's Instr. Parish Priests (1902) 64 (MED) Also all..comun thefuus & robberus ande houcebrenneres in tyme off pes.
1694 P. A. Motteux tr. F. Rabelais 5th Bk. Wks. xxv. 126 They [sc. the friars] were all drest like so many House-Burners.
1729 G. Jacob New Law-dict. at Bail Murderers, Outlaws, House-burners, Thieves,..&c. are not bailable.
1874 G. Bancroft Hist. U.S. X. xvi. 339 Among the captives there were house-burners and assassins.
2008 Daily Post (Liverpool) (Nexis) 8 Jan. 15 The houses are usually insured..so all the house-burner actually achieves is to give the owner a new home.
house-burning n. [compare Old English hūsbryne , in the same sense ( < house n.1 + brune n.1)]
ΚΠ
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 26235 Mans slaghter and hus brening.
1534 G. Ferrers tr. Bk. Magna Carta xv. f. 36 Such prysoners as..be taken for house burnyng felonously done.
1651 W. G. tr. J. Cowell Inst. Lawes Eng. 267 House-burning doth not onely extend to Houses and Barnes wherein Corn is laid up; but also to those heaps which we call Mowes, Stacks, or Reeks, if they be near unto Houses.
1763 in G. Lamoine Charges to Grand Jury (1992) 402 Injuries which respect the Habitations and Property of Men; the former are most affected by the Crimes of House-burning, and Burglary.
1844 P. Harwood Hist. Irish Rebellion 145 To check the system of torture, house-burning, and peasant-shooting.
1997 Irish Times (Nexis) 19 Dec. 15 The floggings, the house-burnings and the murders by yeomanry that took place before the rising.
house decorator n.
ΚΠ
1811 H. W. Arrowsmith & A. Arrowsmith (title) House Decorator & Painter's Guide.
1911 G. Stratton-Porter Harvester xv. 321 As a house decorator you surpass yourself.
2008 New Scientist (Nexis) 22 Nov. 52 Anyone who has tried to choose a paint colour from a house decorator's colour chart knows [etc.].
house furnisher n.
ΚΠ
a1824 Ld. Byron Childe Harold ii, in Wks. (1837) 17/2 House-furnisher withal, one Thomas hight.
1908 W. G. Black Winter Days in India iii. 17 His Highness's architects and gardeners, it must be said, far exceed his house furnishers in taste.
2009 Press & Jrnl. (Aberdeen) (Nexis) 4 Dec. 4 The..scheme provides customers with the chance to build up points from local traders, ranging from chemists to house furnishers.
house-haunting n. and adj.
ΚΠ
1603 S. Harsnett Declar. Popish Impostures xxi. 137 All these brainlesse imaginations, of witchings, possessings, house-hanting, and the rest, were the forgeries..of craftie priests.
1778 J. Matlock Apostasy Broad Way to Hell 75 That account of a wicked, rambling, house-haunting and street-strolling devil.
1896 Daily News 21 May 8/1 The Lares, the house-haunting spirits of ancestors.
1919 Stud. Philol. 16 243 In house-haunting as in other matters pertaining to their unhallowed profession, the witches of the New World followed the lead of their exemplars across the Atlantic.
2001 Augusta (Georgia) Chron. (Nexis) 20 Dec. (Neighbors section) 2 What a ghost story it is, too, beginning with the house-haunting, chain-rattling, decomposing countenance of Marley.
house letting n.
ΚΠ
1702 R. Thoresby Diary 23 Dec. (1830) I. 406 With Mr. Blythman about house-letting.
1839 C. Dickens Let. 19 Nov. (1965) I. 603 I am in the agonies of house-letting, house-taking, title proving, [etc.].
1909 Westm. Gaz. 1 Oct. 2/2 The Scotch House-Letting and Rating Bill.
2008 Evening Standard (Nexis) 19 Aug. 9 Demand for family homes was particularly strong, with 43 per cent of surveyors reporting an increase in the number of house lettings.
house owner n.
ΚΠ
1712 Attempt to explain Act for Erecting Workhouse in Norwich 28 Land-holders, House-owners, Shop-keepers, and every Artificer, reap some Advantage from a multitude of Inhabitants.
1898 Edinb. Rev. Apr. 417 He wrote..for cultivated house-owners.
1944 B. S. Townroe in R. Greenhalgh Pract. Builder xvi. 425/2 Many thousands of house owners have complained..of damp coming through brickwork.
2002 Daily Express (E. Malaysia) 21 Nov. 3/4 A 29-inch television set and a video compact disc..player were also found missing, said the house owner.
house painting n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > decorating and painting > [noun] > painting
house painting1688
the world > matter > colour > colouring > painting > [noun] > product of painting > type or method
house painting1688
overpainting1843
repaint1893
respray1922
overspray1942
overpaint1944
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 149/2 House Painting where Plaister Walls are made to look like Wainscate or outlandish Timber.
1759 W. Lewis tr. C. Neumann Chem. Wks. i. 181 (note) In the Swedish Transactions, Vitriol is recommended as a yellow for house-painting.
1875 E. Spon Workshop Receipts 105/1 House-Painting.—To produce the different tints, various colours are added to the white-lead base.
1930 D. H. Lawrence Assorted Articles 165 There were several brushes for house-painting.
2008 San Antonio (Texas) Express-News (Nexis) 27 Apr. (Real Estate section) 61 d [Baby boomers have] an income at which they can afford professional house painting.
house-robbing n.
ΚΠ
1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. L2v Our common Lawyers restraine it [sc. burglary] to robbing a house by night... The like offence committed by day, they call house-robbing.
1735 Gentleman's Mag. Dec. 735/1 Mackney, to an unhappy End for stealing Horses was condemn'd..Cole and Alder..for House Robbing, receiv'd their due.
1845 T. Hall Effects & Adventures Raby Rattler xxvi. 266 Here is a house robbing, and the devil a one is there to help them.
1918 J. L. Sutton in J. E. McCulloch Democracy in Earnest 353 They are there [sc. in jail]..for such acts as pilfering, house-robbing, and other petty or noncapital offenses.
2003 H. Camisa & J. Franklin Inside Out xviii. 250 The star witness for the state was Percy House, the ‘foreman’ of the house-robbing crew.
house sweeper n. [compare Middle French balieur de maison (13th cent. in Old French as balaieor de la maison; French balayeur de maison)]
ΚΠ
1580 C. Hollyband Treasurie French Tong Ballieur de maison, a house sweeper.
1799 J. Leyden Hist. Sketch Discov. & Settlem. Afr. xiii. 374 We..are presented with such [women] as are hardly good enough for house-sweepers.
1880 Admin. Rep. Madras Municipality 1879 App. 166 Buckets or carts should be stationed at certain places such as public latrines where the house sweepers could bring any night-soil.
1905 Congregationalist World 90 387/2 My house sweeper inquired how much I paid the barber for pulling my tooth.
2005 Professional Builder (Nexis) 1 Mar. 49 Gary began his building career with Marv Andersen Homes, working his way up from house-sweeper to framer to Director of Construction.
C3. Locative, instrumental, etc.
house-bred adj.
ΚΠ
1618 W. Lithgow Pilgrimes Farewell sig. B3 Recall the house-bred Scorpion sting, The hissing Serpent.
1848 C. Kingsley Saint's Trag. ii. ii. 67 Our house-bred foe, the adder in our bosoms.
1993 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 18 Nov. 45/1 They were Thracians..Carians, Scythians, Illyrians, Syrians, and a small group (three) of house-bred slaves.
house burial n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > disposal of corpse > burial > types of burial or entombment > [noun] > burial in specific type of tomb
tumulation1623
urn-burial1658
house burial1863
mound burial1865
tree-burial1901
pipe-burial1929
1863 Trans. Hawick Archaeol. Soc. 41/1 The design of barrow burial, like that of house burial, probably derived its origin from the natural cavern.
2002 S. E. Greene Sacred Sites & Colonial Encounter iii. 74 I was continually informed..that the elimination of house burials brought an end to the potentially fatal disease known as alokpli.
house-dwelling adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabiting a type of place > [adjective] > inhabiting house
housedOE
domestic1521
householding1797
housing1810
house-dwelling1854
1854 C. Knight Eng. Cycl.: Nat. Hist. I. 526 Among the house-dwelling Kurds only women of high rank conceal their faces, but among the tent-dwellers all exhibit their features.
1941 ‘R. West’ Black Lamb & Grey Falcon II. 103 The gypsies..would not dream of going into the church while the house-dwelling Christians were still about.
2007 Pittsburgh Tribune Rev. (Nexis) 15 Sept. Just four cases of rabies are believed to have been from common house-dwelling bats in American history.
† house-encompassed adj. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1865 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend I. xv. 299 The towers and steeples of the many house-encompassed churches, dark and dingy as the sky that seems descending on them, are no relief to the general gloom.
house-going adj.
ΚΠ
1832 R. Henley Plan Church Reform 11 ‘A house-going minister’, says Dr. Chalmers, ‘wins for himself a Church-going people’.
1847 J. Gregg Observ. Sunday-school Instr. 62 If they are sick, visit them; a house-going teacher will have a school-going class.
2007 Irish News (Nexis) 6 Oct. 7 The traditional custom of ‘clergy visiting’ has steadily declined in spite of the maxim, ‘a house-going minister makes a church-going people’.
C4. In sense A. 5a, with sense ‘of or relating to a legislative or deliberative assembly’, as House commission, House committee, House report, etc. Chiefly with capital initial. Chiefly U.S.
ΚΠ
1775 S. Palmer Calamy's Nonconformist's Memorial I. 188 He was suspended by the vice-chancellor, but afterwards restored by the H. of Commons... A remarkable speech upon this occasion was made by Sir Ed. Deering, chairman of the house committee.
1837 Deb. Congr. U.S. 14 Jan. 1392 See House Reports, No. 27, Session 1824-5.
1857 J. C. Rives App. to Congress. Globe 70/3 The depositions taken by the House commission never have been laid before us.
1890 Lancet 26 July 211/2 A special minute to this effect was passed recently by the House Committee.
1916 N.Y. Times 17 Jan. 5/5 An account of the executive session was inadvertently included in a House report.
1988 D. P. Forsythe Human Rights & U.S. Foreign Policy (1989) 144 While officially a bipartisan and ‘bi-branch’ agency, it may be treated here as if it were a House commission.
2010 Toronto Star (Nexis) 15 Dec. a16 (headline) Former Tory MP staffer tells House committee he sent secret paper to five lobbyists.
C5. In sense A. 7c, with sense ‘of or belonging to a (boarding or sports) house in a school’, as house captain, house match, house prefect, house tutor, etc.Recorded earliest in housemaster n. 2a; see also housemistress n. 2.
ΚΠ
1839 A. D. Bache Rep. Educ. in Europe i. i. 37 Ten or a dozen boys are invited to take tea in the teacher's room during his term of duty as house-master.
1855 J. A. Symonds Let. Oct. (1967) I. 64 Tom Parr who has just joined his regiment came down here today with an old house fellow.
1857 T. Hughes Let. 15 Nov. I. 126 Yesterday I played in a house match.
1899 R. Kipling Stalky & Co. 124 I thought the house-prefects might know more about it than I did. They ought to. They're giddy palladiums of public schools.
1908 A. Huxley Let. Nov. (1969) 29 M'tutor, who is also my house tutor and my division beak, is a dear man.
1922 C. E. Montague Disenchantment vii. 93 A boy of this kidney, while looking on at a vital house match, will give his mind ease by telling a friend what ‘a lot of stinkers’ the other house are.
1925 City of Oxf. Sch. Mag. July 33 In the points counting for the House Shield.
1949 W. B. Gallie Eng. School ii. 31 He managed to infuse his ideas into the masters who coached the school's junior fifteens, house fifteens, and so on.
1966 P. Willmott Adolescent Boys E. London v. 93 After registration I took house prayers as House Captain.
1995 V. Chandra Red Earth & Pouring Rain (1996) 585 Fiercely fought house-matches,..all of us staring open-mouthed as some schoolboy legend passed by.
2010 South Wales Argus (Nexis) 12 Apr. To get a house tie the boys have to represent their house in a sport..and raise money for charity.
C6. In senses A. 4b and A. 4c.
a. Designating wines selected and bought in bulk by the management of a public house, restaurant, hotel, etc., and often served at a special price (sometimes by the carafe or glass), as house red, house white, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > wine > class or grade of wine > [adjective] > house wine
house1845
1845 J. T. J. Hewlett Great Tom of Oxf. in Hood's Mag. 3 381 Birdseye, to pass away the time, had an extra half pint of house sherry, and a nap over the papers.
1863 R. F. Burton Wanderings W. Afr. I. i. 13 The hock is sourish, the champagne all syrup, the Burgundy is like the house Burgundy of the Reform Club—meat as well as drink.
1967 O. Lancaster With Eye to Future v. 120 The food was good and cheap, the house burgundy at five bob a bottle excellent.
1976 Art N.Z. Dec. 46/3 (advt.) Havelock red: unlike other house reds has avoided becoming too functional and is not at all cliché.
1986 Times 31 May 15/2 My companion's smoked salmon salad..was nicely complemented by the sprightly Californian house wine (£6.75).
2000 M. Barrowcliffe Girlfriend 44 xii. 332 We had lunch at a nearby pizzeria, chuffing our way through a couple of carafes of house white in the process.
b. Designating a musician or ensemble engaged on a regular or long-term basis at a club or other venue, as house band, house pianist, etc.
ΚΠ
1890 Decatur (Illinois) Daily Republican 3 Feb. 3/2 The Home Minstrels are to repeat their entertainment at the Grand Opera House on Wednesday evening..for the benefit of the house orchestra.
1934 S. R. Nelson All about Jazz iv. 76 There are many combinations which only record and play over the radio... These orchestras are often composed of prominent members of famous bands, in which case they are known as ‘house’ combinations.
1966 Crescendo Nov. 23/1 He was part of the house rhythm section for Prestige Records.
1985 I. Gitler Swing to Bop (1987) vii. 219 In 1948 he headed the house band at the Royal Roost, a new jazz club on Broadway and 48th Street.
2007 Olive May 98/1 Michael Caine held court at his permanent table and completing the scene was ‘house pianist’ Dudley Moore tickling the ivories.
C7. In sense A. 4e, designating a publication produced by a particular company, business, or group and dealing mainly with its own activities, as house journal, house magazine, house publication, etc. Recorded earliest in house organ n. (b) at Compounds 10.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > journalism > journal > periodical > [noun] > other periodicals
annals1763
scientific journal1797
story paper1849
woman's magazine1868
woman's mag1887
house journal1912
film magazine1916
digest1922
fan magazine1928
pulp magazine1929
confession magazine1931
slick1934
glossy1945
trade1949
photonovel1967
1886 Western Druggist Sept. 361/1 The ‘Southern Druggist and Home Doctor’ is the latest venture in ‘house organ’ pharmaceutical journalism and probably the most discreditable.
1889 Western Druggist Jan. 3/1 The ‘house organ’ as an institution in the drug trade has rarely proven a success, and every year adds to the disrepute into which they have fallen.
1903 Spatula Feb. 294/2 The number just issued is, for a house publication, an unusually attractive one.
1909 Internat. Libr. Technol.: Engraving & Printing 24 Where a house magazine is sent to a mailing list..the expense..may be reduced by publishing the advertisements of other manufacturers.
1912 Times 2 Oct. 33/3 (advt.) The Austin Advocate. Far and away the best house journal published in the interests of its clients.
1959 Times Rev. Industry Mar. 5/2 Publications such as..house magazines.
1971 Nature 5 Mar. 3/1 Physical Review, the house journal of the American Physical Society.
2005 Tampa Tribune (Nexis) 10 Nov. (Baylife) 1 It is essentially a ‘house’ publication, and you wouldn't expect to find anything but completely benign posturing.
C8. In sense A. 14, with sense ‘of or relating to the game of house or bingo’, as house call, house-caller, etc.
ΚΠ
1917 A. G. Empey From Fire Step 126 As soon as the estaminet is sufficiently crowded the proprietors of the ‘House Game’ get busy.
1945 Gen 30 June 27/1 The house-caller announced that the amount of the house was two and a half piastres short of ten pounds.
1951 Amer. Speech 26 99/1 The man who runs the game is spoken of as the ‘house’ or the ‘house man’.
1994 Times (Nexis) 16 Dec. One of their cards contained a winning line for the house prize.
2007 P. W. Browning Good Guys wear Blue 2 Apart from the occasional scuffle at the local bingo hall due to a false ‘house’ call there was rarely any trouble.
C9. In the names of animals, often in the sense of ‘domesticated’ or ‘frequenting or infesting houses’ (sometimes as opposed to field) .See also house dog n., house dove n. 1, house lamb n. 1, etc.
house ant n. any of various common ants which infest buildings; also with distinguishing word.
ΚΠ
1807 J. Cordiner Descr. Ceylon I. xiv. 441 The common house ants always follow one another in a line, one by one.
1904 Science 30 Sept. 439/2 Some doubt attaches to all of these forms except M[onomorium] pharaonis, the tiny yellow house-ant of Old World origin.
1971 J. V. Osmun in R. E. Pfadt Fund. Appl. Entomol. (ed. 2) xviii. 524 As a group, the ants are numerous and highly successful. Those capable of developing within a structure include the black carpenter ant, Pharaoh ant, and the odorous house ant.
2008 A. V. Evans What's Bugging You? i. 28 Dead insects that accumulate on windowsills are also attractive to some house ants and should be removed frequently.
house bee n. (a) a domesticated bee or honeybee; spec. Apis mellifera (now rare); (b) (in bee-keeping) a young worker bee that works in the hive (as distinguished from older worker bees, which forage for nectar). [In later use after German Hausbiene (1876 (in the passage translated in quot. 1880) or earlier).]
ΚΠ
1579 G. Gilpin tr. P. van Marnix van Sant Aldegonde Bee Hiue of Romishe Church iii. 334 For the one are domesticall or house Bees.
1658 J. Rowland tr. T. Moffett Theater of Insects in Topsell's Hist. Four-footed Beasts (rev. ed.) 890 For some are domestick, or house Bees; others are wilde or wood Bees.
1839 Chinese Repository 7 485 The second sort is the house bee, which men domesticate by nourishing in hives.
1880 A. Besant tr. F. C. C. L. Büchner Mind Animals xix. 244 Just as with the nursery cells, the house bees [Ger. Haus-Bienen] have to close with wax the provision cells.
1934 R. Redfield & A. V. Rojas Chan Kom iii. 50 The house bees do not sting.
1971 H. C. Chiang in R. E. Pfadt Fund. Appl. Entomol. (ed. 2) v. 161 When field bees return with nectar, house bees will unload it.
1998 Bee Craft 80 299/2 The house bees in this box look after the queen cells as if they were their own and seal them.
house borer n. any of various beetles whose larvae destroy wood; esp. the old-house borer, Hylotrupes bajulus.
ΚΠ
1926 N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. 32 110 The death-watch beetles (Ptinidae) form a group embracing the well-known and destructive so-called white-pine or common house-borer.
1961 Brit. Jrnl. Industr. Med. 18 53 Much of the timber (a European soft-wood, prone to infestation by the European house-borer..) was pre-cut and imported.
2001 Timaru (Austral.) Herald (Nexis) 31 Jan. 2 He disagreed with a statement..that the common house borer was not attracted to dry radiata pine, and produced examples of borer-ridden timber.
house cat n. [originally after Dutch †huyscatte (1520 in the passage translated in quot. ?1527; now huiskat)] the domestic cat, esp. when kept as a household pet or to control vermin; (now also) spec. a pet cat that is kept exclusively indoors.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Felidae (feline) > felis domesticus (cat) > [noun]
cata800
bad?a1325
gibc1400
baudrons?a1500
house cat?1527
puss-cata1529
puss1533
puss1598
mewer1611
mewler1611
Tibert1616
malkina1627
grimalkin1630
meower1632
miauler1632
pussycat1698
pussy1699
tigerkin1849
moggie1911
pussums1912
mog1926
?1527 L. Andrewe tr. Noble Lyfe Bestes sig. C ijv It is well marked by the house catte for they be selden colored lyke the wylde catte [Du. Ende dat die catten ander verwe hebben dat comt wt die veranderighe der spijsen ghelijc men het aen de huyscatten].
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 107 Her tayle longer then an ordinary house cats.
1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World 251 They are in size and colour exactly the same with our house cats.
1849 W. J. Broderip Zool. Recreations (new ed.) ii. 197 The house cat will breed with the wild cat, and the offspring will be fruitful.
1910 Field & Stream Mar. 1051/2 The feral house-cat..is to-day doing more for the destruction of game and insectivorous birds than almost any other factor.
1973 R. Ludlum Matlock Paper vii. 61 His clumsy, long-haired house cat had knocked over a stray glass.
2003 D. E. Crews Human Senescence i. 9 When kept as a house cat without access to the outdoors, the life expectancy of F. catus is about 15 years.
† house cock n. Obsolete the male of the domestic chicken, Gallus gallus domesticus (as distinguished from other male galliform birds).
ΚΠ
1538 T. Elyot Dict. Gallinaceus, a howse cocke.
1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler i. 25 What shall I say of the House-Cock, which treads any Hen, and then..takes no care to hatch, to feed, or to cherish his own Brood. View more context for this quotation
1703 M. Martin Descr. W. Islands Scotl. 160 The Rump of a House Cock strip'd of its Feathers, and applied to the Wound, doth powerfully extract the poyson.
1899 P. J. McCall Songs Erinn 110 Dream of happy home and bawn, Till the house cocks, answering each other, Cry out: Mock na Ho-ya slaun!
1912 W. G. Johnson & G. O. Brown Poultry Bk. (new ed.) 1282 Of the other poultry, two house cocks and nineteen hens were valued at 6s. 8d.
house cricket n. a light yellowish-brown cricket, Acheta domesticus (family Grillidae), commonly found (esp. in Europe) in association with human settlement.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > subclass Pterygota > [noun] > division Exopterygota or Hemimetabola > order Orthoptera > family Gryllidae > member of (cricket) > acheta domestica
house cricket1721
1721 Philos. Trans. Abridg'd 1700–20 (Royal Soc.) 5 iv. iii. 257 'Tis like a small fly, with an head like an House Cricket.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VII. 349 The House-cricket, whose voice is so well known behind a country fire in a winter's evening.
1880 Boy's Own Bk. (new ed.) 265 House-crickets are also good, to dib with, for chub.
1949 Times 16 Aug. 7/3 The crickets often heard on municipal rubbish dumps and suchlike places are also, I think, house crickets.
2004 Countryman Jan. 66/2 It certainly does take advantage of temporary, local food gluts, taking prey such as house crickets.
house duck n. (originally) a domesticated duck (now rare); (in later use) spec. a pet duck.
ΚΠ
1573 R. Lever Arte of Reason iv. iii. 150 For though I graunt yt som houseduck flieth not, yet am not I thereby forced to say, ye wildduck flieth not, seing ye restraint may seem to be made but to the tame duck.
1657 J. Rowland tr. J. Johnstone Hist. Wonderful Things of Nature vi. vi. 171 House Ducks are known almost to all men; those of Lybia are of a middle stature, between a Goose and a Duck.
1710 R. Sibbald Hist. Fife & Kinross ii. ii. 48 Anas Arctica Clusii, haunts much this Firth.., it is less than the House-Duck.
1839 C. Darwin in R. Fitzroy & C. Darwin Narr. Surv. Voy. H.M.S. Adventure & Beagle III. xii. 257 The manner is something like that by which the common house-duck escapes, when pursued by a dog.
1928 Japanese Jrnl. Zool. 1 (Abstracts) 128 The mature eggs of Ascaris lumbricoides of man are able to hatch and the larvae migrate in the body of the house duck as in the body of mammals.
2009 K. Stevens Where Blind Horse Sings 76 When we allowed two former house ducks to become part of the Underfoot family, we didn't know what the outcome would be.
house finch n. the North American finch Carpodacus mexicanus, related to the rosefinches, the male of which has a red forehead, throat, and breast; spec. the widespread subspecies C. m. frontalis.Several subspecies of C. mexicanus were formerly regarded as separate species.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > arboreal families > family Fringillidae (finch) > [noun] > subfamily Carduelinae > genus Carpodacus (rose-finch)
purple finch1731
house finch1816
rosefinch1840
purple bullfinch1862
scarlet rosefinch1884
1816 J. F. Stephens Shaw's Gen. Zool. IX. ii. 429 House Finch... This well known bird is about six inches in length.
1869 Amer. Naturalist 3 183 About the gardens [in California] is the House Finch.
1917 T. G. Pearson Birds Amer. III. 7 House Finch... Other names [include] Crimson-fronted Finch; Red-headed Linnet [etc.].
1961 O. L. Austin Birds of World (1962) 302/2 Very similar to the Purple Finch is the slightly smaller and brighter Mexican House Finch, a common garden bird from California southward through Mexico.
2008 Nature 20 Nov. 284/1 The house finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) has joined the short list of birds that can smell, apparently using this sense to detect predators.
housefly n. an extremely common dipteran fly, Musca domestica (family Muscidae), occurring worldwide in and around human habitation, which lays its eggs in excrement and decaying material, and which can present a health hazard through food contamination or transmission of disease; also more fully common housefly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Diptera or flies > [noun] > suborder Cyclorrhapha > family Muscidae > musca domestica (house-fly)
houseflyc1450
c1450 Treat. Fysshynge wyth Angle (1883) 29 Ye maye angle for hym wyth an house flye.
a1589 L. Mascall Bk. Fishing (1590) 11 In Iuly then take house flyes and the flyes that doe breede in pysmyre hilles.
1661 M. Stevenson Twelve Moneths 28 The Baits which most entice them, besides the red Worm, are the House-fly in the Summer, and fat of Bacon in the Winter.
1721 R. Bradley Philos. Acct. Wks. Nature 132 There are several sorts of Ants, some of which are larger than our common House Flies; these are call'd Horse-Ants.
1832 D. Brewster Lett. Nat. Magic x. 259 The house-fly is well known to have the power of walking in an inverted position upon the ceilings of rooms.
1911 Daily Record (Glasgow) 15 July 3 A big army for the destruction of the house fly with ‘Swat the Fly’ as its battle-cry.
2005 Grow your Own Dec. 85/3 Cabbage root flies look similar to the small houseflies which emerge in April.
house gecko n. any of various geckos that have a tendency to frequent buildings; spec. (frequently with distinguishing word) any of several members of the genus Hemidactylus, esp. H. frenatus of South and South-East Asia.
ΚΠ
1818 C. Abel Narr. Journey China 53 This species of Lizard, which seldom grows beyond the length of five or six inches, may be called the house Gecko of Java.
1908 E. P. Stebbing Man. Elem. Forest Zool. India 179 Hemidactylus gleadovii..is the commonest house-gecko of India.
2005 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 16 Nov. 12/2 A five-tailed common native house gecko has been found in north Queensland.
house hen n. the female of the domestic chicken, Gallus gallus domesticus (as distinguished from other (female) galliform birds); (in later use) spec. such a hen kept indoors as a pet.Cf. earlier home-hen n. at home n.1 and adj. Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
c1475 (c1399) Mum & Sothsegger (Cambr. Ll.4.14) (1936) ii. l. 143 Rith as þe hous-hennes..hacchen And cherichen her chekonys.
1576 T. Twyne Schoolemaster i. xix. sig. Cij.v Aboue all foules these are the finest the Stare, younge Pertredges, and house chickens, and next vnto them the elder Pertredge, the Feasant, the house Hen, and the Capon.
1614 G. Markham Cheape & Good Husbandry ii. xvii. 126 The Turky-Henne will not like the House-henne call her Chickens to feed them.
1737 J. Brickell Nat. Hist. N.-Carolina 204 They lay Eggs as large as a House-Hen.
1859 T. Wright Polit. Poems & Songs I. Introd. p. xciv Henry of Lancaster..came to spread his wings over them and cover them from the cold, as the house-hens cherish their chickens.
2001 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 15 Dec. 20 Several readers have known charming house hens, but none of them house-trained.
house lizard n. any of various lizards which have a tendency to frequent buildings; spec. = house gecko n.
ΚΠ
1783 W. Marsden Hist. Sumatra 99 The lizard species are in abundance; from the cokay, which is ten or twelve inches long..to the smallest house lizard, of which I have seen some scarce half an inch in length.
1899 Proc. Zool. Soc. 16 May 631 The Great House-Lizard or Tokay is recorded from Penang, Singapore, and the Malay Peninsula... In Siam, however, it is one of the commonest animals.
1925 C. Wells Six Years in Malay Jungle iv. 29 I long to hear once more the strange twittering of the swallows, the funny little ‘Chee-chuck’, of the house lizards.
2001 Y. Martel Life of Pi i. 6 I miss the heat of India, the food, the house lizards on the walls, the musicals on the silver screen.
house longhorn n. (more fully house longhorn beetle) a woodboring beetle, Hylotrupes bajulus (family Cerambycidae), which is native to Europe and found widely elsewhere, its larvae being a pest of timber, typically seasoned softwood; cf. house borer n., old house borer n. at old adj. Compounds 4.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > Polyphaga (omnivorous) > superfamily Phytophaga or Chrysomeloidea > family Cerambycidae > hylotrupes bajulus (house longhorn)
house longhorn1937
house longicorn1944
1937 Jrnl. Sci. Instruments 14 121 This has been used more particularly for the detection of larvae of the House Longhorn.
1964 N. E. Hickin Househ. Insect Pests viii. 83 The House Longhorn Beetle is a pest of softwood.
2004 P. Hymers New Home Builder vi. 112 This [sc. wood preservation treatment] is essential in areas known to suffer with house longhorn beetle (Hylotrupes bajulus L).
house longicorn n. now rare (more fully house longicorn beetle) = house longhorn n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > Polyphaga (omnivorous) > superfamily Phytophaga or Chrysomeloidea > family Cerambycidae > hylotrupes bajulus (house longhorn)
house longhorn1937
house longicorn1944
1944 Jrnl. S. Afr. Forestry Assoc. Dec. 52 It was discovered that the European house longicorn..had established itself in the Cape Peninsula and at Port Elizabeth.
1962 New Scientist 15 Mar. 614/3 Massive timber struts..were already known to harbour death-watch beetles and the house longicorn.
house marten n. [compare German Hausmarder (1703 (as †Haußmarder) or earlier)] the stone marten, Martes foina.
ΚΠ
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 495 And therefore the French call the word Martin by the name of Foines: And the skins of the firre-martin, or house-martin, are far more beautifull to looke vppon, then those that liue wilde in the trees or woodes.
1785 T. Pennant Arctic Zool. I. 77 The House Martin..is found neither in America, or the Arctic countries.
1892 J. Sowerby Forest Cantons Switzerland 169 The skin of the tree-marten (mustela martes) is worth from six to ten francs, that of the house-marten three to four francs, and of the common weasel two francs.
1907 Shields' Mag. Jan. 110/1 Badger and pine marten are rather scarce; house marten, stoat ermin and weasels are less rare.
2008 G. Gorman Central & Eastern European Wildlife 35 In some local languages they are known as ‘house martens’ (not to be confused with ‘house martin’) and are regarded as pests.
house martin n. a black-and-white Eurasian songbird of the genus Delichon (family Hirundinidae); esp. D. urbicum, which often builds its mud nest on the walls and eaves of buildings.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > non-arboreal (larks, etc.) > [noun] > family Hirundinidae > genus Delichan (house-martin)
martinet1440
martina1525
marlet1530
house martin1767
window swallow1791
window martin1793
eaves-martin1833
1767 G. White Let. 4 Aug. in Nat. Hist. Selborne (1789) 28 The swallow and house-martin.
1773 G. White Let. 20 Nov. in Nat. Hist. Selborne (1789) 162 House-martins are distinguished..by having their legs covered with soft downy feathers down to their toes.
1896 H. Seebohm & R. B. Sharpe Coloured Figures Eggs Brit. Birds 269 The House Martin is generally distributed throughout the British Islands in summer.
1941 Ld. Alanbrooke Diary 29 June in War Diaries (2001) 167 Spent day at home, photographing flycatchers, house martins and young sparrow hawks.
2005 Permaculture Mag. Winter 30 A flock of between 100 and 200 house martins gathered on our roof for two hours.
house mite n. (originally) any of various small mites found in domestic environments (in quot. 1903, a bird louse found in a chicken house); (now) spec. (a) an acarid mite, Glycyphagus domesticus (family Glycyphagidae), which feeds on moulds and is found chiefly in damp upholstery and mould-infested foodstuffs; (b) = house-dust mite n. at house dust n. Compounds.
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1889 Gleenings Bee Culture May 404/1 House-mites are black and red species..which often gather on windows and under carpets in such prodigious numbers as to be incalculable.
1903 N. S. Mayo Care of Animals xv. 317 Coal-tar applied hot to perches and walls, is very effective in keeping away house-mites of chickens.
1970 N.Z. Med. Jrnl. 72 417 (heading) House mites and allergies: their control in the house.
1977 G. Vevers tr. H. Mourier & O. Winding Collins Guide Wild Life House & Home 100/1 Common house mites, Glycyphagus domesticus. These small mites..can be recognised by the long hairs at the rear end.
1999 Bath Chron. (Nexis) 16 Feb. 2 House mite droppings can aggravate eczema; vacuuming..and damp dusting can help.
house moth n. any moth that has a tendency to enter buildings and whose larvae damage textiles and are a pest of stored foodstuffs; esp. either of two predominantly brownish moths of the family Oecophoridae, Hofmannophila pseudospretella and Endrosis sarcitrella, which has white foreparts.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > family Oecophoridae > member of (house moth)
house moth1810
1810 W. Nicol Gardener's Kalendar 232 The moth is not unlike the common house-moth.
1932 Entomologist's Monthly Mag. 68 77 (title) Borkhausenia pseudospretella and other house moths.
1966 J. R. Busvine Insects & Hygiene (ed. 2) xiii. 354 The house moths are probably species which originated as feeders on dry vegetable matter and have become adapted to dry animal remains.
1995 Independent 25 Apr. 13/1 There are two guilty parties—the house moth and the clothes moth—but..it is their grubs that actually do the eating of fibres.
house mouse n. a greyish-brown mouse, Mus musculus, found frequently as a scavenger inside and around human dwellings, and in fields.The house mouse is also widely bred and kept as an experimental animal and a pet.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > order Rodentia or rodent > superfamily Myomorpha (mouse, rat, vole, or hamster) > [noun] > family Muridae > genus Mus or mouse > mus musculus or house mouse
house mouse?1555
St. Kilda mouse1899
?1555 W. Turner Huntyng Romyshe Wolfe sig. A.viiv Who is he so inexpert, that cannot discerne a blacke house mouse, from a browne felde mouse, with the long snout, muche like vnto a shrowe?
1658 J. Rowland Topsell's Hist. Four-footed Beasts (rev. ed.) 394 But the house Mouse whereof we now intreat, is engendered by copulation betwixt male and female, and they are in general most libidinous.
1763 R. Brookes New Syst. Nat. Hist. I. 291 The colour of the fur on the back is darker than that of the House Mouse.
1835 L. Jenyns Man. Brit. Vertebr. Animals 31 M[us] Musculus, Linn. (House Mouse.)—Fur dusky gray above with a tinge of yellow; beneath cinereous.
1916 G. E. H. Barrett-Hamilton Hist. Brit. Mammals II. 635 In all probability the House Mouse is of Asiatic origin.
2005 Guardian 23 Nov. ii. 28/1 If they are house mice (Mus musculus) they are unlikely to survive the rigours of an open habitat such as woodland or open countryside.
house pigeon n. [compare earlier house dove n.; with quot. 1598 compare Dutch huisduif house dove n.] now historical and rare a domesticated pigeon (= pigeon n. 1), esp. as distinguished from a feral pigeon.
ΚΠ
1598 W. Phillip tr. J. H. van Linschoten Disc. Voy. E. & W. Indies ii. 237/2 A turtle doue, or house pigeon.
a1627 T. Middleton No Wit (1657) v. 99 Not toy, nor bill and imitate House-Pigeons.
1732 W. Ellis Pract. Farmer 118 The Tame or House-Pigeons are called Barbels, Jacks, Crappers... The small Jack-Pigeon is a good Breeder.
1847 Amer. Agriculturist Jan. 33/1 One of the chief peculiarities of the common house-pigeon is the double dilatation of the crop.
1907 Country-side 20 Apr. 327/1 In the London parks, the house-pigeon has taken to settling in trees; but it prefers the larger branches.
1921 Law Rep.: King's Bench Div. 2 662 A person who shoots at a pigeon under the belief that it is a wild one takes the risk of its turning out to be a house pigeon.
1963 H. E. Wedeck Love Potions through Ages viii.191 The directions given by the druggist were as follows: After a dinner of house pigeon and mutton, well-spiced, take spoonful of this electuary, wash down the sherbet of rose conserve, and await results.
house rabbit n. a domesticated rabbit, (now) spec. a pet rabbit kept inside its owner's home.In quot. 1903 (figurative): a timid or ineffectual person.
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a1627 W. Rowley & T. Middleton Wit at Severall Weapons iii. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Kkkkkk3v/2 Sir Greg. I promise you, not a house-Rabbit, Sir. O. K. No sucker on 'em all.
1667 B. Whitelocke Diary 19 July (1990) 744 Wh[itelocke] sent him 100 Trouts & 3 of his house Rabbets.
1792 J. S. Barr tr. Comte de Buffon Nat. Hist. VI. ix. 225 Those [guinea pigs] which are kept in houses have the same bad taste with the house-rabbit.
1847 R. O'Connor Field Sports of France (ed. 2) 133 The markets are very plentifully supplied with house-rabbits of an enormous size, and in very excellent condition; but very inferior in flavour to the wild bush-rabbit.
1903 K. M. H. Caffyn He for God Only v. 38 A great over-fed house-rabbit..with the makings of a soldier in him.
2000 Petcare Jan. 4/1 Although the idea of a houserabbit might seem bizarre to some people, keeping a rabbit as a house pet is really no stranger than keeping a cat or dog.
house rat n. the black rat, Rattus rattus.
ΚΠ
1686 R. Blome Gentlemans Recreation xxiii. 109/2 They differ from House-Rats, being grayer and longer Haired.
1778 Northern Farmer II. lxiv. 513 Of House Rats. These Rats are black, and frequent the cielings and wainscots of houses.
1882 Lippincott's Monthly Mag. June 556/1 The dryest corner of a dry-goods box in a snug old garret is the favorite dwelling-place of a house-rat.
1923 Pop. Mech. Jan. 8/2 The disease [sc. plague] had a particular affinity for rodents, and the house rat, being the commonest rodent, becomes its first victim.
2005 Canberra Times (Nexis) 31 Jan. 2 The black rat.., more commonly referred to as the roof rat or house rat.
house shrew n. (a) (more fully Asian house shrew) the musk shrew, Suncus murinus, chiefly found in southern Asia; (b) a southern and western European shrew, Crocidura russula.
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1845 Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 15 269 Sorex murinus, the Common House Shrew of the plains and also of the hills.
1907 W. F. Kirby Mammals of World 44 The House Shrew is common on the Continent, and feeds on insects.
1990 S. Churchfield Nat. Hist. Shrews‎ 7 The so-called house shrew, Crocidura russula, familiar to householders in central and southern Europe.
2008 M. Walters Chinese Wildlife 60 The Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus) is sometimes found in houses in the south.
house snail n. †(a) a terrestrial snail that has a shell (as distinct from a slug) (obsolete); (b) a snail that lives in and around human houses and gardens; esp. the garden snail, Helix aspersa, and the edible snail, H. pomatia.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Gastropoda > [noun] > order Pulmonifera > Inoperculata > family Helicidae > member of
sneg1340
limacea1492
cochle?1527
house snail1562
shell-snail1600
hoddy-dod1601
land-winkle1601
hodmandod1626
snag1674
vine-snail1829
1562 W. Bullein Dial. Sorenes f. xxxvjv, in Bulwarke of Defence Take asshes of Dill, of burnte Leade, and..of Creuis shelles, or house Snailes burnt.
1610 J. Guillim Display of Heraldrie iii. xviii. 154 These are called House-snailes, either because they so carrie their houses vpon their backe..or because vsually they breed about old houses.
1758 T. Flloyd & J. Hill tr. J. Swammerdam Bk. Nature 73/1 The genital organs are thrust out of the neck, in the same manner as the house Snail.
1847 Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 19 70 They move out of the water at a steady pace, about half as fast as a house snail.
2003 S. Whiteside tr. P. Faas Around Rom. Table (2005) ii. vi. 291 The Romans enjoyed the vineyard snails that are still popular today and smaller varieties like house-snails.
house sparrow n. a common brown and grey sparrow, Passer domesticus, widespread from Europe to southern Asia, which nests in the eaves and roofs of houses.
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the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > seed eaters > family Ploceidae > [noun] > subfamily Ploceinae (weaver) > genus Passer > passer domesticus (sparrow)
sparrowc725
phipc1400
Philipa1500
house sparrow1653
spug1808
sprug1815
spruggie1845
spurgie1849
spadger1862
spur1866
spuggy1874
spurg1882
gutter-bird1896
sparrer1935
1653 N. Culpeper Pharmacopœia Londinensis 52/1 There are certain Living-Creatures, called..House Sparrows, and Hedg Sparrows, Frogs, Scincus, Land Scorpions, [etc.].
1776 Lady A. Miller Lett. from Italy II. xxviii. 65 This soup was removed by a dish of broiled house-sparrows. Need I say we went to bed supperless?
1897 Times 5 Jan. 10/4 House sparrows feed on grain during the winter.
1998 Daily Tel. 2 Jan. 12/3 The majority of Europe's chaffinches winter in southern Europe and North Africa, but house sparrows, great tits and yellowhammers mostly stay at home, seldom moving more than a few miles.
house spider n. any spider commonly found in and around human dwellings, spec.: (a) any of several spiders of the genus Tegenaria (family Agelenidae), esp. T. domestica, found chiefly in Europe and North America; (b) the North American spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum (family Theridiidae).
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Arachnida > [noun] > order Aranea > member of (spider) > unspecified type > house-spider
house spider1607
cardinal spider1832
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Arachnida > [noun] > order Aranea > suborder Labidognatha or Dipneumones > member of family Agalenidae > tegenaria domestica (house-spider)
house spider1607
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Arachnida > [noun] > order Aranea > suborder Labidognatha or Dipneumones > family Theridiidae or genus Theridion > theridium vulgare (house-spider)
house spider1721
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 272 The domesticall or House-Spyder, layeth her egges in a thinne webbe, and the wilde-Spyder in a thicker and stronger.
1721 R. Bradley Philos. Acct. Wks. Nature 135 The black House Spider, whose Antennæ are seemingly pointed with Diamonds.
1863 Intellect. Observer Apr. 168 The music attracted a house spider (Tegenaria domestica), which..left its web and stationed itself on the music-stand.
1912 J. H. Cornstock Spider Bk. vii. 330 The most common of all house-spiders, the one that most often spins a tangled maze of threads in the corners of neglected rooms, is Theridion tepidariorum.
2007 P. D. Hillyard Private Life Spiders 138/1 In England,..the abundant, long-legged house spiders (Tegenaria species) are public enemy number one.
house swallow n. the barn swallow, Hirundo rustica (family Hirundinidae) with dark blue upperparts, reddish throat, and distinctive long, deeply forked tail, which breeds throughout much of the northern hemisphere, building its nests on the walls and eaves of buildings.
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the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > non-arboreal (larks, etc.) > [noun] > family Hirundinidae > genus Hirundo > hirundo rustica (swallow)
swallowa700
Prognea1425
house swallow1572
hirondelle?1590
chimney-swallow1775
barn-swallow1851
1572 J. Bossewell Wks. Armorie ii. f. 72 There ben other two kindes of Swalowes, ye one called the house Swalowe, which loueth mannes companie: and the other whiche is lesse, louethe the sea.
1673 J. Ray Coll. Eng. Words 86 The common House-swallow; Hirundo domestica.
1766 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. ii. 96 The house swallow is distinguished..by the superior forkiness of its tail, and by the red spot on the forehead, and under the chin.
1874 ‘Grandfather Percy’ Homes Birds 34 The home of the chimney or house swallow differs very little..from that of the window swallow.
2008 A. E. Smith Daughter York 513 The meadows were full of hawthorn and apple blossoms, and white clouds scudded across the sky, creating a natural backdrop for house swallows and martins.
house weasel n. now historical and rare any domesticated weasel (genus Mustela); spec. the ferret, M. furo.
ΚΠ
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 730 A house weasel is wont to be burned for diuers remedies, and to be imbowelled with salt, and dried in a shade.
1811 J. Brown Dict. Holy Bible at Weasel Weasels are of two kinds, the house-weasel, and the field-weasel or foumart.
1921 C. L. Woolley Kastamuni to Kedos ix. 153 Major Middlemass's armchair observations on the antics of the house weasel were lost on the way home.
1972 Sci. Amer. Nov. 130/2 They were taken into controlled breeding in Egypt less than 4,000 years ago; the Athenians still kept not cats but house weasels against their mice.
house wren n. a very small brown North American songbird, Troglodytes aedon (family Troglodytidae).
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the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > non-arboreal (larks, etc.) > [noun] > family Troglodytidae > genus Troglodytes > species troglodytes (wren) > other types
house wren1791
1791 W. Bartram Trav. N. & S. Carolina ii. x. 291 M[otacilla]. domestica (regulus rufus) the house wren.
1808 A. Wilson Amer. Ornithol. I. 133 The House Wren inhabits the whole of the United States, in all of which it is migratory.
1872 Amer. Naturalist 6 275 Here the common ‘house’ wren is bleached and faded.
1904 E. Glasgow Deliverance v. i. 442 A half-finished nest which a house-wren had begun to build.
2007 J. L. Gould & C. G. Gould Animal Architects vi. 163 House wrens find hollow cavities in trees and bring sticks, tamping them down until the layer is thick.
C10.
house agent n. an agent employed (by the landlord or owner) in letting or selling a house, collecting rents, etc.; (now esp.) an estate agent.
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society > authority > delegated authority > one having delegated or derived authority > [noun] > steward or bailiff in charge of another's property
town-reeveeOE
reeveeOE
gravec1175
procuratorc1300
dispender1340
provost1340
bailiec1375
officerc1375
dispenserc1380
proctora1382
dispensator1382
farmerc1384
approverc1386
husbanda1387
stewardc1405
chamberlain1423
procurer1477
factor1520
bailiff1528
land-steward1535
improver1536
grieve1537
amtman1582
administrator1596
stead-man1609
dapifer1636
vogt1694
house jobber1709
commissioner1760
foreman1774
house agent1793
ground-officer1815
land-agent1846
wic-reeve1853
steadward1876
house farmer1882
house-knacker1884
land-sergeant1894
1793 True Briton 11 Feb. Early on Saturday morning the house of Mr. Crosby, House-agent..was broke open by some villains.
1873 A. I. Thackeray Old Kensington in Cornhill Mag. Jan. xliii. 16 Close was a vulgar, ambitious man... He had begun life as a house agent.
1909 Daily Chron. 6 July 8/3 Those desolate, straight rows of neat little bow-windowed brick villas or ‘maisonettes’ as the house agents call them.
2003 Birmingham Evening Mail (Nexis) 19 Dec. 16 He contacted house agents without telling Nancy he planned a move.
house and contents adj. Insurance = home and contents adj. at home n.1 and adj. Compounds 2; cf. house insurance n. at Compounds 1c, house contents adj.
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1966 Times 4 Mar. 18/4 Initially we shall concentrate on types of insurance such as the normal house and contents insurance.
1991 Moneywise Sept. 81/1 Because 1990 was such a horror story for insurers who faced massive claims, you can expect your house and contents insurance premiums to rise by some 20% this year.
house appointment n. British a position as a house officer (see house officer n.) in a hospital.
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the world > health and disease > healing > healer > physician > [noun] > hospital or clinic physician > intermediate hospital level > position of
residency1870
house appointment1888
housemanship1957
1888 Times 18 Apr. 16/3 (advt.) St. George's Hospital Medical School... House appointments are awarded without extra fees.
1948 Training of Doctor (B.M.A.) xxxii. 127 This prescribed period of compulsory pre-registration house-appointments corresponds to the post known in America as an ‘internship’.
1963 Lancet 19 Jan. 176/1 After holding house-appointments, he became an assistant bacteriologist in the Glasgow public-health laboratories.
2007 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 16 Oct. 27 He took up a house appointment at the London Hospital in 1948, continuing his pathology experience at the Royal Army Medical College.
house arrest n. detention in one's own house, rather than in a prison, etc.; frequently with under.
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society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > [noun] > house arrest
home confinement1724
house arrest1810
chamber arrest1834
house detention1915
1810 Pict. Verdun I. 151 To avoid..the expence and the ennui of this house-arrest, the colonel was obliged to pay twelve livres to the gendarmes.
1853 Times 13 Sept. 9/2 The following punishments were inflicted:—..beaten with a stick, 48; house-arrest, 180.
1936 F. L. Schuman Hitler & Nazi Dictatorship Epilogue ii. 441 He was subjected to ‘house arrest’ for his protection.
1945 M. Allingham Coroner's Pidgin xv. 126 In the normal way when I put a person under house arrest and she breaks it, I pull her in.
1970 New Yorker 17 Oct. 179/1 The Chinese continue to support Prince Sihanouk, who is said to be living under house arrest in Peking.
2005 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 13 July a30/4 Britain's introduction of ‘control orders’..which allow for the imposition of conditions tantamount to house arrest on the basis of suspicion only.
house arrest v. transitive (chiefly in passive) to subject to house arrest.
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society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > arrest > [verb (transitive)] > put under house-arrest
house arrest1963
1963 Economist 31 Aug. 732/2 The Hodgsons, banned, house-arrested and persecuted in South Africa.
2000 Sunday Herald (Glasgow) 11 June (Seven Days section) 5/2 I stopped being a journalist and became an activist, and eventually was house arrested.
house author n. an author employed by a theatre; also in extended use.
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society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > playwriting > [noun] > playwright > employed by a theatre
house author1844
1844 Bentley's Misc. 15 336 An engagement for six months as the house-author, in one of our first provincial theatres. I must away at dawn.
1864 J. G. Bertram Glimpses Real Life xxvii. 262 August, or even earlier, when the ‘house-author’ and the manager determine what it [sc. the pantomine] is to be.
1903 Daily Chron. 6 July 7/4 He was house-author to a theatre at Sydney.
1995 P. S. McKnight Understanding Christoph Hein i. 14 He was promoted to house author at an unusually young age in the 1973–74 season.
2009 Guardian Unlimited (Nexis) 5 Mar. Amazingly, Philip K Dick is practically a house author in some studios.
house ball n. U.S. a game in which one player throws a ball against a wall (typically the side of a house) and another strikes it with a bat when it rebounds.
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1894 Daily Picayune (New Orleans) 15 July 11 Houseball... was played at the peril of the boys. Even the softest ball produced an irritating succession of raps..and the [house] owner was sure..to sally forth infuriated.
1901 McKean Democrat (Smethport, Pa.) 31 May 4/5 The ‘jeu de paume’..is related to the English game of fives, the Irish handball and the casual American boy's game of houseball.
2008 Daily Herald-Tribune (Grande Prairie, Alberta) (Nexis) 23 May 13 We have about three or four new guys that are new to baseball, but they're pretty skilled. They've played house ball.
house-barge n. a barge designed or adapted for living in, usually one that is not self-propelled; cf. houseboat n.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessels with other specific uses > [noun] > houseboat
house lighterc1761
houseboat1772
chop1859
house-barge1860
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > a dwelling > other types of dwelling > [noun] > houseboat
houseboat1772
Tanka boat1839
house-barge1860
shanty-boat1880
1860 Times 3 Aug. 16/2 (advt.) Two cabin punts, and a house barge used as a store.
1907 Federal Reporter 151 532 The tug's tow consisted of a house barge about 100 feet in length and 40 feet in width; the house being some eight feet above the deck.
2009 M. Carter Sunnyside Blues ii. 21 A ladder that pulled down and led to the best part about the house barge: the large roof deck.
house bird n. (a) a person who stays in or about the house; (in early use) a cowardly or unadventurous person; (later) a woman who devotes herself to domestic duties (now rare); (b) any bird that nests in or about a house or other building; (also) a domestic or pet bird.Cf. earlier house dove n.
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society > society and the community > social relations > lack of social communication or relations > [noun] > attachment to home life > person
house dove1579
houseling1598
house bird1601
home-sittera1657
housekeepera1741
Sunday man1769
homester1819
homebird1821
homebody1821
stay-at-home1836
homeboy1847
homegirl1847
stay-putter1927
1601 E. Aggas tr. A. Arnauld First Sauoyan 28 in tr. True Disc. Queenes Voy. The..opinion..detained a number [of men] in their houses. But if his Maiestie..would find meanes to discerne the house-birds from the true Gentlemen, whose seruice [etc.].
1615 T. Adams Lycanthropy 24 in Blacke Devill The house-bird, the Sparrow, the Embleme of an incontinent and hote adulterer.
1690 J. Dryden Don Sebastian v. 112 She flys about the room, as if she had wings instead of legs; I believe she's just turning into a bird: a house-bird I warrant her.
1720 T. Boston Human Nature vii. 391 They make themselves Wings, and fly away; not as a tame House Bird, which may be catcht again.
1852 Harper's New Monthly Mag. Aug. 347/2 She was very much of a house-bird... In the evenings, while her sister was dashing off some brilliant bravura in the drawing-room, Jane would be seated in a corner.
1898 W. E. D. Scott Bird Stud. 19 This [sc. Bewick's Wren], too, is a house bird, and..selects building places similar to those of the House Wren.
1905 Daily Chron. 10 July 8/5 I want to be moving. You can't understand that sort of thing, can you, you little house-bird?
2004 M. Chabon Final Solution (2005) 97 Despite its wild origin in..Africa, Bruno was a house bird, cultivated and tamed.
house book n. now chiefly historical a book in which the accounts and affairs of a house or household are recorded.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > account or statement of > [noun] > account book > household
household book1457
house book1598
1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes at Bastardolo A blotting booke, a daie booke, a house booke to write in euery thing.
1664 Verney Mem. (1899) 24 Aug. IV. ii. 65 Tis best to get her a house booke, & set downe all thats bought, & cast it upp once in a weeke.
1768 J. Wilkes Corr. (1805) III. 286 I beg my dear girl to buy a house-book, and to set down all expences.
1836 F. E. von Koch Let. 15 Aug. in Lewin Lett. (1909) I. ii. 347 A Miss Lord..reads the newspapers to Papa, keeps the house-books and servants in order.
1940 J. Grenfell Let. 29 Sept. in Darling Ma (1989) 228 I'm in no way worried financially... Now that I've got a PG (paying guest) the house books are taken care of too!
2002 C. Sullivan Rhetoric of Credit 151 (note) Salisbury's Clerk of the Kitchen..and the house book of Gorhambury..both use brief entries into an imprest system.
housebound adj. †(a) having an obligation to or duty towards a (or one's) house (obsolete rare); (b) confined to the house, as by illness, bad weather, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restraint depriving of liberty > confinement > [adjective] > confined > to house, office, or town
homebound1794
house-ridden1835
town-bound1835
housefast1855
housebound1878
office-bound1961
1645 J. Bond Occasus Occidentalis 27 Our British fore-fathers were Shire-bound, City-bound, Town-bound, Parish-bound, House-bound.
1840 Monthly Chron. 6 287 He is conscious of a delight which none can know who are house-bound and pent up in cities.
1878 Harper's Mag. Jan. 277/1 The rains set in furiously, and I was completely house-bound.
1960 Sunday Express 10 July 11/4 His ailing, house-bound wife is attended to by a home help.
2007 Climb Mag. May 8/1 Being practically housebound for the past six weeks following a climbing injury, may I thank your magazine for preventing me from becoming stir crazy.
house boy n. a young male domestic servant or employee, esp. in some former British dependencies.Sometimes used of any non-white male domestic servant, irrespective of age (now considered offensive; cf. boy n.1 1a(b)).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > domestic servant > [noun] > boy
house boy1793
umfaan1852
1793 S. A. Mathews Lying Hero 113 The house boy [in the West Indies] has his eye upon every stranger that enters, and if he dirts the floor with his feet..he employs himself to repair the injury the house has sustained.
1832 Graham's Town Jrnl. (S. Afr.) 13 Jan. 9 Wanted, a Servant as House Boy, preference will be given to a Member of the Temperance Society.
1899 Daily News 8 June 5/7 Odd jobs as boot and knife cleaning, or where the boys are described as ‘house-boys’.
1955 B. Manvers Shadow of Happiness i. 19 That's my houseboy; he has an unpronounceable name, so I call him John.
1994 B. Gilroy Sunlight on Sweet Water 11 She said he had seen slave-days and worked in the big house as a house boy.
2008 Caribbean Rev. Bks. May 35/2 He worked at Monteath's Kep estate,..first as a ‘house boy’ in the great house, then, as he approached adulthood, as a field labourer.
houseburn v. U.S. (a) transitive (chiefly in passive) to make (tobacco) house-burnt; (b) intransitive (of tobacco) to become house-burnt.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > disease or injury > affect with disease or atmospheric conditions [verb (transitive)]
smut1626
snape1631
blight1695
houseburn1708
rust1759
spur1896
scorch1905
windrock1969
the world > plants > disease or injury > be diseased, injured, or discoloured [verb (intransitive)]
burn?1523
blast1580
slaya1642
smut1657
fire1693
mowburn1707
go1735
strike1742
curl1793
gum1794
sunburn1833
French1836
rust1839
shank1848
houseburn1850
1708 J. Seymour Discomforts Colonial Life in A. B. Hart Source-bk. Amer. Hist. (1899) vii. 108 The numerous hazards of unseasonable weather, the Fly, the ground worme the house wormes, it's [sc. the tobacco crop's] being house-burnt, frostbitten.
1799 J. B. Bordley Ess. & Notes Husbandry 135 How uncertain is the tobacco crop!..curling or frenching, from too much rain; house-burning..whilst curing; [etc.].
1841 Farmers' Reg. 31 May 259/2 The heaping of tobacco in some degree protects it from being sun burned. But care must be taken to avoid another casualty, that of being house burned.
1850 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Patents 1849: Agric. 321 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (31st Congr., 1st Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc. 20, Pt. 2) VI Splitting tobacco is admired by many who contend that it cures brighter..and [is] less likely to house-burn.
1966 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. 45 16 Tobacco will house burn in wet weather if you don't fire it.
2006 Southeast Farm Press (Nexis) 16 Aug. 23 If you get into a wet spell and your tobacco tries to houseburn on you, you may need to get some fans in there to dry it out.
houseburning n. U.S. the condition of being house-burnt; the process by which this occurs.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > disease or injury > [noun] > damage due to environmental conditions
wind-stroke1657
carbunculation1666
firing1693
fire blast1727
houseburning1757
winter-killing1827
sun scald1850
scalding1865
sunburn1865
wind-blow1921
water stress1922
balling1928
windrock1969
wind-rocking1972
Waldsterben1983
1757 L. Carter Diary 6 Sept. (1965) I. 175 I found it [sc. tobacco] in a great sweat and removed it. This I think sufficiently explains the cause of house burning.
1850 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Patents 1849: Agric. 324 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (31st Congr., 1st Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc. 20, Pt. 2) VI In this crop every leaf was saved, none lost by worms nor by ‘house-burning’ (that is suffering, or even rotting from being hung too thick).
1953 Pop. Mech. Sept. 112/2 Burley tobacco growers..are now using liquid-propane gas burners to halt rot and ‘house burning’ of the product.
2009 Times-News (Hartford & Beaver Dam, Kentucky) 1 Oct. 10 a In houseburning weather, we want the tobacco to dry as much a possible.
house-burnt adj. U.S. designating tobacco which, while being cured in a tobacco house, has been damaged or spoilt by damp, disease, or rot.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > disease or injury > [adjective] > spoiled by heat, cold, etc.
mowburnt1548
house-burnt1640
winterkilled1817
1640 in Arch. Maryland (1883) I. 98 Bad Tobacco shall be judged ground leafes, Second Crops leafs, notably brused or worm eaten, or leaves house burnt, sun burnt, [etc.].
1757 L. Carter Diary 6 Sept. (1965) I. 175 I put some tobacco in the Fodder house 3 days agoe out of the weather and this day it appeared some of it house burnt.
1897 Bradstreet's 25 Oct. 1/4 Some of the leading growers report several crops as ‘house burnt’ and inclined to rot.
1901 Rep. Virginia Dept. Agric. & Commerce 107 It should not be crowded on the sticks, nor in the house, as it might cause it to house-burn, and house-burnt tobacco is of little value.
1991 L. G. Carr et al. Robert Cole's World (new ed.) iii. 63 It was easy to produce ‘firing’—a blight of hard brown spots—..and ‘house burnt’ leaf was not merchantable.
house call n. a visit made to a patient in his or her own home by a doctor; (in extended use) a similar visit made by some other specialist.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > art or science of medicine > practice of healing art > [noun] > consultation session > in patient's home
visit1719
home visit1750
house call1899
1899 Yale Med. Jrnl. Jan. 152 Our regular fees, which are, one dollar per office call, one dollar per physical examination and two dollars per house call.
1960 R. H. Blum Managem. Doctor–Patient Relationship ix. 203 The readiness of the physician to make house calls is important to patients.
1973 R. C. Dennis Sweat of Fear xii. 85 I opened the door, and there she was... I said, ‘Doctor, I didn't know you made house calls.’
1986 Sunday Express Mag. 15 Dec. 25/1 There they all are, rushing about doing their house calls. ‘Do come in, vicar. Will you have a glass of sherry?’
2009 N.Y. Mag. 3 Aug. 14/2 (caption) Victoria Beckham hired a personal spray-tanner who makes house calls.
house cap n. a cap made of the colours adopted by a particular house in a school, esp. one awarded for proficiency in sports.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > cap > types of > denoting office or profession > academic
four-cornered capc1440
corner-cap1566
cornered cap1583
square cap1584
cap1611
university cap1646
trencher-cap1721
trencher1834
muffin cap1837
mortarboard1854
house cap1863
colleger1889
square1928
1863 School Mag. (Uppingham) Nov. 277 With respect to our dress. I think we ought either to have a house cap, each one of a different colour.
1899 R. Kipling in Windsor Mag. Dec. 33/1 ‘S'pose we're collared?’ said Beetle, cramming his red and black house-cap into his pocket.
1907 Daily Chron. 15 June 4/7 The pride of a little boy who wins his house cap at school.
2006 Times (Nexis) 4 Feb. 66 The Museum of Rugby at Twickenham..is a treasure trove with such items as rulebooks and Rugby School house caps.
house car n. chiefly U.S. (a) an enclosed railway car for freight, a boxcar (now rare); (b) a motor vehicle equipped with living accommodation, esp. a car or truck which has been modified to provide this (now chiefly historical).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > rail travel > rolling stock > [noun] > railway wagon or carriage > closed
boxcar1831
van1837
house car1838
side-door Pullman1887
1838 Rep. Surv. Baltimore & Ohio Rail Road App. D There will be other kinds of cars used than the house car, but they need not be noticed in these estimates.
1896 Autocar 29 Aug. 518/2 In the near future, we are likely to have large and decent house-cars.
1916 Traffic World 27 May 1093/2 A shipment destined to a Willamette Valley point is..reloaded into a house car.
1948 Billboard 10 Jan. 58/3 Lowe has bought a Chevrolet truck and is building a house car out of it.
2001 D. Poyer Fire on Waters xix. 256 He napped at the stove for two hours, then went outside and hauled himself up into an empty house car bound east.
2002 Public Historian 24 103 Other early methods [of creating a motorhome] included modifying an automobile into a house car and adding a camper shell on the bed of a pickup truck.
house carpenter n. now chiefly North American a carpenter who does the woodwork, esp. the timber framework, of a house.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > workers with specific materials > woodworker > [noun] > carpenter > types of
house carpenter1598
square-wright1752
caseworker1860
1598 J. Stow Suruay of London 101 It seemeth that the builders of the hall of this house were shipwrightes, and not house Carpenters.
1688 London Gaz. No. 2380/4 William Bowell of Brighthelmston..House-Carpenter.
1741 W. Stephens Jrnl. 1 Apr. in Jrnl. Proc. Georgia (1742) III. 163 The other was looked on as a Master House-Carpenter of Repute.
1855 Knickerbocker 46 222 Beech timber is held in great esteem by ship-builders and house-carpenters.
1911 Railway Carmen's Jrnl. 16 566/1 Freight repairers were told to join the House Carpenters' Union, get a union card and with that they could go out and build houses next day.
2007 Palm Beach (Florida) Post (Nexis) 24 Sept. 1 b Jeff Kramer..spent 10 years as a house carpenter before deciding he wanted a change and coming to work on boats.
House caucus n. a meeting of the members of a particular political party within a legislative house (esp. the United States House of Representatives) to decide policy, select leadership, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > other national governing or legislative bodies > [noun] > in U.S.A. > meeting of a party in
House caucus1888
1846 Niles' National Reg. 27 June 259/1 The senate caucus voted, for Hugh J. Anderson [etc.]. The house caucus voted Humlin [etc.].
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. II. lxxiii. 596 What the Americans call ‘House caucuses’, i.e. meetings of a party in the larger House of the legislature, are not uncommon in England.
1912 Independent (N.Y.) 8 Aug. 290/1 It was predicted last week that at a House caucus to be held on the 6th the decision of the recent caucus about battleships would be reversed.
2010 National Jrnl. (Nexis) 27 Mar. Democratic insiders credit their House caucus vice chairman with doing much of the behind-the-scenes work to secure the votes to pass health care reform.
house chambermaid n. now rare (historical in later use) a female servant combining the functions of housemaid and chambermaid.Cf. house parlourmaid n.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > domestic servant > [noun] > maid or housemaid > housemaid with other duties
house chambermaid1861
house waiting maid1863
house tablemaid1874
house parlourmaid1878
1861 Times 26 Mar. 15/5 (advt.) Chambermaid, or House Chambermaid in a first-class Hotel. Well experienced.
1910 A. E. H. Barr Reconstructed Marriage vii. 177 ‘The girl is not only a nurse, she attends to our rooms also.’ ‘The house chambermaid could do that.’
2009 Publishers Weekly Rev. (Nexis) 28 Sept. 45 Elderly Tita, a dotty woman constantly causing trouble for her harried granddaughter Thilde, the house chambermaid.
house church n. a house where members of a particular religious organization or group meet to pray; (also) a sect or religious organization whose ceremonies and activities take place in the houses of its members, rather than in a purpose-built church.Sometimes, with reference to St Paul's ‘the church that is in their house’ (Romans 16:5, 1 Corinthians 16:19, etc.), taken as a model of worship.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > observance, ritual > kinds of rite > home > [noun]
house church1644
1644 S. Rutherford Due Right of Presbyteries x. 319 We are not to thinke that..one Congregation [did] meet in a house, or that one House-Church, or House-Congregation..did try and censure those that called themselves Iewes.
1754 tr. in J. Gambold Modest Plea for Church of Brethren 4 Such House-churches we read of in the Apostles Times.
1893 Biblical World July 43 It may be noted that in every case where a house-church is mentioned in Paul's letters, there is a woman in the house.
1964 New Society 26 Mar. 5/2 Four house-churches meet regularly on week nights in people's homes in Notting Hill. They are a mixture of discussion, worship, sharing of problems and a social occasion.
2005 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 9 Jan. iv. 1/1 In China, underground ‘house churches’ are proliferating so quickly that neither the authorities nor Christian leaders can keep reliable count.
houseclean v. intransitive to clean the interior of a house, flat, etc.; (also transitive) to clean (a place) in this way; (in extended use) to renovate or refresh, esp. by eliminating undesirable elements.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > cleaning house > clean house [verb (intransitive)]
houseclean1854
spring clean1895
1854 Cottager's Monthly Visitor Sept. 309 Some years back Mabel was house-cleaning at the Hall, and some money was missed; she was suspected.
1919 Home Econ. Educ. (U.S. Div. Vocational Educ.) 47 Preparation for confinement... Entire room should be carefully house cleaned.
1954 Manch. Guardian Weekly 1 July 2 The sub-committee should houseclean its staff.
1993 Canad. Living Sept. 4/1 We've housecleaned, moved some pages around, added a fresh coat of paint to our graphics.
2007 A. Theroux Laura Warholic xv. 217 [His] relatively young wife..was overworked, cooking,..housecleaning, and tramping out several times a week..to shop for food.
house cleaner n. a person who cleans the interior of a house.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > cleaning house > [noun] > one who
womanOE
scouring womana1627
schorerc1638
house cleaner1695
charmaid1882
spring cleaner1883
charman1888
charlady1895
char-boy1902
char1906
Putzfrau1906
chargirl1932
Mrs Mop1948
1695 J. Bellers Proposals Raising Colledge Industry 6 2 Governess and Deputy 6 Bed-Makers 6 Nurses 6 Washers 4 House-Cleaners.
1787 T. Jefferson Tour S. France in Papers (1955) XI. 446 Men are..housekeepers, housecleaners, bedmakers.
1856 C. Knight Pop. Hist. Eng. I. 396 Some of the domestics..were women, who were house-cleaners, sempstresses, and breweresses.
1905 Daily Chron. 16 May 5/5 A house-cleaner..who was maddened with liquor, to-day shot..his landlady.
2010 Santa Cruz (Calif.) Sentinel (Nexis) 28 Apr. Having a weekly house cleaner is a luxury that can be out of the question for many people.
housecleaning n. the cleaning of the interior of a house; (in extended use) the renovating or revamping of something, esp. to eliminate undesirable elements; an instance of this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > cleaning house > [noun]
housecleaning1774
spring cleaning1841
spring clean1848
1774 Middlesex Jrnl. 22 Mar. We had best..stay contentedly at home..nursing our children, and..managing the affairs of small cookery and house-cleaning.
1863 B. Taylor Hannah Thurston ii. 26 The first thing..was immediately to summon old Melinda..whose speciality was house-cleaning.
1909 Sporting Life (Philadelphia) 24 July 2/1 (heading) A house-cleaning in the Boston National Team now in progress.
1965 F. Sargeson Mem. Peon iv. 91 A char whom she employed for house-cleaning duties.
2007 San Francisco Chron. (Nexis) 18 Mar. d1 Continuing innovation and a thorough corporate housecleaning have positioned the billion-dollar company for a promising future.
house coal n. coal used in or suitable for house fires, esp. bituminous coal.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > fuel > coal or types of coal > [noun]
coal1253
sea-coal1253
pit-coal1483
cannel1541
earth coala1552
horse coal1552
Newcastle coal1552
stone-coal1585
cannel coal1587
parrot1594
burn-coal1597
lithanthrax1612
stony coal1617
Welsh coala1618
land-coala1661
foot coal1665
peacock coal1686
rough coal1686
white coal1686
heathen-coalc1697
coal-stone1708
round1708
stone-coal1708
bench-coal1712
slipper coal1712
black coal1713
culm1742
rock coal1750
board coal1761
Bovey coal1761
house coal1784
mineral coal1785
splint1789
splint coal1789
jet coal1794
anthracite1797
wood-coal1799
blind-coal1802
black diamond1803
silk-coal1803
glance-coal1805
lignite1808
Welsh stone-coal1808
soft1811
spout coals1821
spouter1821
Wallsend1821
brown coal1833
paper coal1833
steam-coal1850
peat-coal1851
cherry-coal1853
household1854
sinter coal1854
oil coal1856
raker1857
Kilkenny coal1861
Pottery coal1867
silkstone1867
block coal1871
admiralty1877
rattlejack1877
bunker1883
fusain1883
smitham1883
bunker coal1885
triping1886
trolley coal1890
kibble1891
sea-borne1892
jet1893
steam1897
sack coal1898
Welsh1898
navigation coal1900
Coalite1906
clarain1919
durain1919
vitrain1919
single1921
kolm1930
hards1956
1784 Obs. Evil Consequences Duty on Coals 11 The small manufacturers do not keep their business-coals separate from their house-coals.
1867 W. W. Smyth Treat. Coal & Coal-mining 69 The uppermost notable seam is the well-known house coal.
1940 G. H. J. Adlam & L. S. Price Higher School Certificate Inorg. Chem. (ed. 2) xxxvi. 292 Bituminous coal, which burns with a bright flame and is ordinary house coal.
1991 New Builder 26 Sept. 24/3 Anthracite coal grains in floorstanding solid fuel boilers compare favourably at £426 with house coal costing £444.
housecoat n. any of various kinds of informal coat worn in the house; esp. a (now usually woman's) dressing gown.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > dress, robe, or gown > types of > for specific purpose > for wear at home
housecoat1830
rest gown1893
brunch coat1933
brunchy1942
1830 L. Ritchie Game of Life II. xi. 136 He looked..in every respect like a man who was not afraid to romp with his children, and kiss his wife, and call his morning gown a house-coat.
1866 H. James Landscape Painter in Atlantic Monthly Feb. 185/2 The old man was in his house-coat and slippers.
1915 Vogue 1 Sept. 118/3 (advt.) House Coat of Albatross... A graceful, comfortable and serviceable garment for Negligee wear.
1973 J. Wainwright Pride of Pigs 50 She..slipped a housecoat over her nightdress and made her way downstairs.
2003 N. Slater Toast 186 Mummy never wore mascara, or perfume bought from a woman who came to the door, or walked around in a quilted nylon ‘housecoat.’
house colour n. (usually in plural) one of the colours of a house in a school (see colour n.1 19b(a)), esp. as worn or won by those representing it.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > general equipment > [noun] > colours of house
house colour1867
society > communication > indication > insignia > [noun] > colours > of school, club, or team
colour1577
house colour1867
school colour1876
1867 Marlburian 4 Dec. 199/1 The reform of 1866, with its attendant 2nd and 3rd eleven house-matches, house-colours, etc.
1867 Routledge's Every Boy's Ann. 489 Every house at Harrow has its own distinguishing..shirt in the football field, and each boy is bound to wear his house colour.
1914 ‘I. Hay’ Lighter Side School Life viii. 224 Have you got your House colours?
1939 ‘G. Orwell’ in Crit. Ess. (1946) 63 That mystic world of quadrangles and house-colours.
2006 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 11 Nov. 24/8 The..focus on the excellent game of Eton fives..reminds me that I earned house colours..my major and only lifetime sporting achievement.
house contents adj. Insurance = home contents adj. at home n.1 and adj. Compounds 2; cf. house and contents adj.
ΚΠ
1937 Washington Post 12 Sept. v. 13/8 Fire insurance, house contents insurance, depreciation, and painting bills over a ten-year period will cost $635.92.
1970 Observer 19 July 12/6 The normal premium for house contents policies is 5s. for every £100 of property insured.
1993 Which? June 44/2 Most companies offering house contents insurance also offer house buildings insurance—and many offer combined policies.
† house-cop n. [ < house n.1 + cop n.2] Obsolete the top of a house (see cop n.2 1a); = housetop n.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > roof > [noun]
roofOE
thackOE
heelinga1325
coverture1382
house-copa1425
covering1459
housetop1526
rooftop1564
house heada1600
tecture1624
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Psalms cxxviii. 6 Be thei maad as the hey of hous coppis [a1382 E.V. rooues, L. tectorum].
house cusp n. Astrology each of the lines of demarcation between consecutive houses in an astrological chart; = cusp n. 1.
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the world > the universe > celestial sphere > zone of celestial sphere > [noun] > Zodiac > house > beginning of
cusp1579
house cusp1906
1906 ‘A. Leo’ Progressed Horoscope 267 It..exhibits an instance of the employment of the radical house cusps in connection with the progressed planetary positions.
1989 Brandon (Manitoba) Sun 23 Oct. 18/1 Each sign represents a principle to be learned. And the area of life in which that principle can be learned is determined by the house cusp on which a sign falls.
2007 J. Hampar Astrology for Beginners 55 The sign on each house cusp describes how you proceed or move towards that area of life experience.
house detective n. originally U.S. a private detective employed on the premises by a hotel, business, etc., to provide security.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > secret observation, spying > procedures used in spying > [noun] > private detection > person engaged in > employed by a business, etc.
spotter1867
house detective1891
labour spy1903
1891 Daily Inter Ocean (Chicago) 8 July 4 There was..no policeman in the hotel, except the regular house detective.
1922 F. S. Fitzgerald Beautiful & Damned ii. i. 135 The group was joined by the hastily summoned house-detective.
1969 J. Wainwright Take-over Men v. 75 Don't blame me if the house detective finds us and boots us out of the servants' entrance.
2000 San Francisco Chron. (Nexis) 21 Apr. c3 Jack's girlfriend..is, interestingly, a house detective in a department store.
house detention n. detention in one's own house as a form of punishment, or pending charges; cf. house arrest n.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > [noun] > house arrest
home confinement1724
house arrest1810
chamber arrest1834
house detention1915
1915 W. E. Griffis Mikado 76 In leaving without Imperial permission, he was first ordered to house detention and then forgiven.
1958 New Statesman 3 May 555/2 I found an old journalist friend in his second year of house detention because he had been courageous enough to buck the army.
2009 Cape Times (Nexis) 28 Aug. 2 Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will appeal against a recent court decision that put her under house detention for the next 18 months.
house dinner n. a dinner held for the members of a school, college, or other institution.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > meal > [noun] > communal or public meal
ordinar1553
public table1561
ordinary1589
penny-commons1615
fellowshipa1650
ordinary suppera1661
house dinner1818
table d'hôte1821
grubbery1831
syssitia1835
mess1840
hall1861
potluck1867
syssition1874
1818 Times 7 Oct. 1/1 (advt.) There will be a House Dinner at the Royal Navy Institution, on the 11th inst. in commemoration of the Victory of Camperdown.
1870 E. L. Blanchard Diary 7 Apr. in C. W. Scott Life E. L. Blanchard (1891) II. 382 Dine at 7 at Arundel [Club], being the first ‘house’ dinner proposed.
1906 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 8 Sept. 578/2 The first meeting of the Pupils' Physical Society will be held on October 13th, at 8 pm, preceded by a House Dinner in the College Dining Hall.
2008 Daily Gleaner (New Brunswick) (Nexis) 23 Jan. a5 We have wings night, games, a couple hockey games, a house dinner and many other things planned.
house dress n. (a) (as a mass noun) clothing traditionally or conventionally worn in the house (now rare); (b) (as a count noun, now often as one word) a woman's dress or (in later use) an overall worn about the house.
ΚΠ
1823 W. Brown Antiq. Jews II. xi. iv. 193 Thus have we attended to those parts of the house dress which may be considered as common.
1885 W. D. Howells Indian Summer (1886) x. 193 She looked so pretty in the quiet house dress in which she rose from the sofa.
1907 C. R. Watson Egypt & Christian Crusade ii. 35 ‎The women and girls are..gradually approximating Western styles in their house dress, while occasionally they are even seen in public with unveiled faces.
1921 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 2 Apr. 9/5 House Dresses in V-neck style with kimona sleeves, pockets and belt,..come in stripes, checks and plain colors.
1966 ‘S. Ransome’ Hidden Hour iv. 50 A woman wearing a house dress, evidently one of the tenants.
2000 K. Deaux & B. Major in M. S. Kimmel & A. Aronson Gendered Society Reader 87 A woman with a briefcase elicits different associations for most people than does a woman in an apron and housedress.
house duty n. now chiefly historical a duty imposed on a (residential) house; = house tax n.In Britain applied spec. to the Inhabited House Duty of 1851.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > tax > types of tax > [noun] > property tax > house tax
house duty1666
house tax1694
1666 W. Dugdale Origines Juridiciales lxi. 200 He hath also power to compound and mitigate forfaitures, House-duties, Rents of Tenants, and other matters which concern the Society.
1758 W. Blackstone Anal. Laws Eng. (new ed.) Index House Duty.
1850 H. Martineau Hist. Eng. during 30 Years' Peace II. iv. xi. 148 The house duty—that is nearly the best tax we have.
1890 Daily News 18 July 2/4 The Chancellor of the Exchequer..stated that tenemented houses of less than 20l. per annum were exempt from house duty.
1907 Monthly Rev. 27 154 The Land Tax is steadily falling, and the House Duty does not show signs of rapidly increasing in productiveness.
2008 Express (Nexis) 19 July 43 On this day in 1851, the much-hated window tax was finally abolished, only to be replaced by an almost equally unpopular house duty.
house-dweller n. a person who lives in a house (often as opposed to a traveller, nomad, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabitant > inhabitant by type of accommodation > [noun] > inhabitant of house
houseeOE
inmate1609
house-dweller1649
1649 J. Owen Serm. preached to House of Commons 75 For house dwellers, servants, or any others, who may break out into such offences.
1749 Merlinus Liberatus sig. C3 Let Honest Travellers, nay, and House-dwellers too, look to it, for they will find Highwaymen and Foot-padders very busy.
1860 ‘N. Buntline’ Morgan (1861) xx. 44/1 Whether you be so unfortunate as to be a house-dweller in a great city, or so fortunate as I, to live amid the lonely grandeur of the far-away forest.
1909 Westm. Gaz. 1 Oct. 3/3 Many of them who dwell in tents during summer and autumn become house-dwellers in Wandsworth..during winter.
1954 J. R. R. Tolkien Fellowship of Ring i. iv. 101 Most of the inhabitants..were house-dwellers.
1992 Independent 16 Mar. 35/7 I dislike some things about gypsies just as I do about house-dwellers.
† house engine n. Mechanics Obsolete a steam engine structurally dependent on the building in which it is contained.
ΚΠ
1835 Archit. Mag. Jan. 48 I have used the term independent, instead of portable, engine, to distinguish it from what are called house engines; that is, those which are connected with the building in which they are placed.
1872 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 4 Oct. 884/1 I cannot help expressing a hope that engineers will abandon the class of ‘house engines’, and will construct really self-contained steam-engines.
house factor n. Scottish (now archaic and historical) an agent or steward responsible for collecting house rents on an estate.
ΚΠ
1835 Sc. Jurist 7 145/1 A party employed as a house factor having been sued by his principal for payment of a balance on his factory accounts.
1873 A. G. Murdoch Lilts on Doric Lyre 42 (heading) The Rent Day; or, Hoo Auld Mysie Oot-Generaled Her Hoose-Factor.
1911 N. Munro In Highland Harbours 47 ‘By Chove!’ thought Para Handy, ‘a man would need to have the he'rt o' a hoose-factor on a chob like this.’
2001 Evening Times (Glasgow) (Nexis) 6 June 10 Born in 1843, the son of a house factor, Sellars was apprenticed into architecture when he was 14.
house farmer n. now historical a person who engages in house farming.
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society > authority > delegated authority > one having delegated or derived authority > [noun] > steward or bailiff in charge of another's property
town-reeveeOE
reeveeOE
gravec1175
procuratorc1300
dispender1340
provost1340
bailiec1375
officerc1375
dispenserc1380
proctora1382
dispensator1382
farmerc1384
approverc1386
husbanda1387
stewardc1405
chamberlain1423
procurer1477
factor1520
bailiff1528
land-steward1535
improver1536
grieve1537
amtman1582
administrator1596
stead-man1609
dapifer1636
vogt1694
house jobber1709
commissioner1760
foreman1774
house agent1793
ground-officer1815
land-agent1846
wic-reeve1853
steadward1876
house farmer1882
house-knacker1884
land-sergeant1894
1882 Rep. Sel. Comm. Artizans' & Labourers' Dwelling Improvem. 30 Mar. in Parl. Papers: Rep. Comm. 1882 VII. 136 The health of the people cannot be left longer to the tender mercies of speculative jerry-builders and greedy rack-renting house-farmers.
1887 Daily News 16 Mar. 2/5 It is generally within the last ten years of a building lease that houses in London come into the hands of the house farmer, who lets them out in tenements and asks the maximum of rent while doing the minimum of repairs.
1914 Times 30 Jan. 4/3 With the decay of property held on the lease-hold system..much of it has fallen into the hands of house-farmers.
1984 R. Dennis Eng. Industr. Cities 19th Cent. (1986) v. 172 The owner of a large, old house would let it to a ‘house farmer’ for a fixed sum, say between 6s. and 10s. per week.
house farming n. now historical a system whereby a person is allowed, on payment of a fixed fee to the landlord or landowner, to collect and keep the rents from a house or houses.House farming often resulted in rack-renting and the multiple occupancy of residences intended for a single family, and was widely criticized by social reformers of the late 19th and early 20th cent.
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1880 Med. Times & Gaz. 2 Oct. 420/1 The chief object is to obtain a remedy for the excessive rents charged to the working classes under the house-farming system.
1887 Daily News 16 Mar. 2/5 House farming is admittedly a trade.
1911 Times 8 Sept. 8/5 House farming prevails in many of the densely crowded poor parts of London—a system whereby many families live in the same house, or..where a family rents only one room.
1987 P. Williams in N. Thrift & P. Williams Class & Space vi. 192 Land became valuable for its development value, especially for ‘house farming’. A whole industry of owners, intermediaries and agents grew up around the building and market allocation of dwellings.
house-fed adj. that is fed in a house; (spec. of animals) fed indoors or in an enclosure, as opposed to grazing in a pasture, field, etc.; hence in extended use, of meat from such an animal, typically lamb (cf. house lamb n.).
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?1615 G. Chapman tr. Homer Odysses (new ed.) xv. 232 Vlysses..on those house-fed woo'rs, those wrongs of his, Will shortly wreake, with all their miseries.
1777 L. Carter Diary 26 Apr. (1965) II. 1101 Killed a lamb... It is the first house fed.
1791 T. Holcroft School for Arrogance Prologue p. v Here are rich soups,..sauce, sour krout... Here's turtle newly landed; lamb, house-fed.
1895 Daily News 20 Dec. 2/6 House-fed lambs and Berkshire pigs are here in abundance.
1983 J. Mokyr Why Ireland Starved (2006) vi. 164 By keeping ‘house-fed’ cattle, two or three acres planted with turnips or clover could feed three cows all year round rather than provide a meager summer pasture for a single cow.
2003 Farmers Weekly (Nexis) 5 Dec. 2 Extra concentrate costs will call into question the profitability of house-fed stock.
house-feed v. to feed (an animal) indoors or in an enclosure, rather than allowing it to graze in a pasture, field, etc.
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1757 in R. Maxwell Pract. Husbandman 160 The Sheep, having Plenty without Doors, and being also House-fed on all necessary Occasions, could..suffer nothing.
1846 Warnes in J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) II. 115 One acre will house-feed three bullocks, whereas it will require three acres to graze them in the field.
1908 Handbk. City Dublin (Brit. Assoc. Advancem. Sci.) 432 These cattle..are..sold..in the open fairs throughout the county, for exportation across the Channel, where they are house-fed.
2000 E. J. T. Collins Agrarian Hist. Eng. & Wales I. 576 On farms..in the Wirral they [sc. dairy cows] were ‘house-fed’ (zero-grazed) in summer on a mixture of cut clover, Italian ryegrass and vetches four times a day.
house-feeding n. feeding of animals done indoors, as opposed to grazing in a pasture, field, etc.
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1741 W. Ellis Mod. Husbandman May xiv. 177 Some are so curious in the Management of their Colts, that they always give them two Purges..to prepare their Bodies the better for House-feeding.
1803 W. Tennant Indian Recreat. II. 83 Turnips, cabbages, clover, and all the articles of house-feeding.
1994 W. E. Vaughan Landlords & Tenants in mid-Victorian Ireland (2002) v. 126 The mild winters and luxuriant pasture in Ireland..meant that the house-feeding of livestock was unusual, so there was not the same need for outbuildings as in parts of Britain.
house fire n. (a) a fire which burns down or damages a house; (b) a fire lit in a house, usually in a grate or fireplace, for warmth, cooking, etc.figurative in quot. 1638.
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1595 E. Spenser Epithalamion in Amoretti & Epithalamion xix. sig. H5 Ne let house fyres, nor lightnings helpelesse harmes..Fray vs.
1638 S. Rutherford Let. 4 Feb. in Joshua Redivivus (1664) 14 This is Christs ordinarie house-fire that he maks use of, to try..what weight of gold, & what weight of watered copper is in his house.
1727 J. Hutchinson Moses's Principia: Pt. II 215 Two [services]..which those who sit or walk by a House-fire enjoy, viz. Warmth and Light.
1879 Notes Building Constr. III. 123 This gives a brick capable of resisting the action of the heat caused by a house fire, though it would not be sufficiently refractory for resisting a furnace temperature.
1903 W. Mathews Conquering Success xiii. 156 His [sc. Carlyle's] ‘History of the French Revolution’..was used by a friend's maid-of-all-work to light the house fires with.
1989 Which? July 343/1 It's well worth fitting a smoke-detector,..since many people die from the smoke of a house fire.
2004 New Yorker 19 Apr. 20/1 By the time he was sixteen his family was..torn apart,..his sister killed by the third of four house fires.
house flag n. Nautical The distinguishing flag of a shipping company, or of a vessel's owner.
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society > communication > indication > insignia > standard > [noun] > flag > house or trade flag
standard of trade1653
house flag1836
1836 E. Wix Six Months of Newfoundland Missionary's Jrnl. 77 Two full services in the sail-room of Messrs. Newman and Hunt, which had been fitted up with house-flags for the occasion.
1884 W. C. Russell Jack's Courtship II. iv. 62 [I] turned my eyes aloft where the house flag..was rattling..at the main royal masthead.
1917 J. Conrad Shadow-line i. 5 At her mast-head a house-flag, also red, but with a green border and with a white crescent in it.
1965 Mariner's Mirror 51 80 Other vessels of the same company might be present with house-flags half-masted.
2009 Liverpool Echo (Nexis) 14 Oct. 29 Many readers probably still remember how the Cunard and White Star house flags used to be flown above the roof of the Cunard Building.
house frame n. originally U.S. the framework of a wooden house.
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1709 J. Lawson New Voy. Carolina 100 The Chestnut-Tree of Carolina..is a very large and durable Wood, and fit for House-Frames, Palisado's, Sills, and many other Uses.
1824 in New Hampsh. Hist. Soc. Coll. I. 246 A new two-story house frame nearly covered..and two barns, were blown down.
1985 T. Winton Wilderness in Scission 66 As the morning came on and on, the man in the clearing by the houseframe and the spilled barrow did not move.
house furnishing n. (a) the furnishing of a house; (b) (in plural) items used to furnish the house.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > [noun] > of a house > furnishing
house furnishinga1661
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > [noun] > of a house
attirec1325
harness1340
gearc1380
household1420
stuff1438
household stuff1445
standard?1474
utensil1484
inspreith1488
utensilies1496
household goods1501
insight1522
wardrobe stuff?a1527
housewifery1552
plenishing1561
householdry1570
supellectile1584
household effects1762
sticks of furniture1777
house furnishing1827
houseware1827
ingear1835
supellex1849
household appliance1853
homeware1868
home1887
décor1926
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Mddx. 177 Cardinal Woolsey..[was] so magnificent in his expences, that whosoever considereth either of these three, would admire that he had any thing for the other two left,..viz. His House-building. House-keeping. House-furnishing.
1801 Caledonian Mercury 11 July They yesterday received Three Hundred Pieces of Furniture Calicoes..which they shall be proud to show those intending House Furnishing.
1827 Olive Branch 30 June 54/3 Wool, cotton, silk for wearing apparel and house furnishings.
1871 Fort Wayne (Indiana) Daily Sentinel 22 Dec. Chopping Knives, Pie Forks, Dust Pans, Candlesticks..everything that can be expected in a first-class House Furnishing Store.
1904 Sun (N.Y.) 9 Aug. 8 The feminine preference for garments and house furnishings over locomotives and drop forgings.
1991 Jrnl. Design Hist. 4 233/1 They indicate the nature of house furnishing across a wide spectrum by describing in great detail the objects.
house game n. (a) any of various games played in the house (as opposed to those played outdoors); (b) (chiefly British) a sporting competition played by one house of a school against another.
ΚΠ
1652 T. Urquhart Εκσκυβαλαυρον 95 Sometimes at the house-Games of Dice, Cards, playing at the Chess, Billiards, Trou-Madam, and other such like Chambersports.
1728 N. Salmon New Surv. Eng.: Pt. I 64 House Games and Amusements are followed with a Degree of Earnestness and Application equal to the strongest Exercise.
1877 Cliftonian May 232 The heads of houses can..exercise as much authority in the house games as they do within the walls of the houses themselves.
1892 H. B. Carrington in T. Donaldson Indians: Six Nations N.Y. (U.S. Census Printing Office) 53 Blindman's buff is another house game in high favor.
1994 Times (Nexis) 15 Aug. (Features section) The most successful comprehensive schools..will be those with..smaller classes, subjects taught in their ability groups, school and house games, speech days and school uniform.
house girl n. (in early use) a female slave who works in a house (now historical); (later) any young female domestic servant or employee, esp. in some former British dependencies.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > slavery or bondage > [noun] > slave > female
theowa900
ambohtc1175
thrallessa1382
bondwoman1387
serve1480
bondmaid1526
naif1531
maid slave1585
slave-girl1607
slave woman1607
woman bond1675
house girl1791
thrall-woman1886
bondswoman-
society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > domestic servant > [noun] > female
house girl1854
1791 Abstr. of Evid. Select Comm.: Petitioners for Abol. Slave-trade (House of Commons) 69 One of the house-girls having broken a plate, or spilt a cup of tea, the doctor..nailed her ear to a post.
1835 M. Morrison Let. 5 Nov. in N. E. Eliason Tarheel Talk (1956) 277 We have been intending for some time to buy a house girl.
1854 H. Miller My Schools & Schoolmasters ii. 23 I..ran shrieking to my mother,..and the house-girl, whom she next sent to shut the door,..also returned frightened.
1945 B. A. Botkin Lay My Burden Down 55 Part white children sold for more than black children. They used them for house girls.
1996 N. Maraire Zenzele ix. 134 She was wearing the unmistakable starched pink uniform of a house girl and pulling a chubby, chattering white toddler by the hand.
2008 R. Ekosso House of Falling Women 81 The housegirl, a distant cousin sent from the village a year ago, came in from the back room that had been tagged on to the kitchen for poor relatives.
2010 Citizen (Dar es Salaam) (Nexis) 20 Nov. Everyone and their housegirl and askari have a mobile phone.
house god n. a household god; (in early use spec. in plural) the Roman gods believed to protect or watch over a household, the lares and penates. [In early use translating classical Latin lār lar n. and (in plural) penātēs (see penates n.); compare Dutch huisgod (1588 as †huysgod), German Hausgott (1561), both rendering the Latin noun.]
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > deity > classical deity > [noun] > household god(s)
penatesa1522
house god1540
household god1564
lar1586
lares and penates1616
1540 J. Palsgrave tr. G. Gnapheus Comedye of Acolastus v. iv. sig. Ziv Come of, come of, what if I seeke my fathers house goddes [L. lares], (that haue his house in tuition) after boundes wise.
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 54 These Nomades..wander with their House-gods, day and night.
1742 C. Owen Ess. Nat. Hist. Serpents iii. iv. 204 The Roman satirist..calls these Images his dear little House-Gods; and then observes, that they were crown'd with Garlands of Flowers in Summer.
1839 P. J. Bailey Festus 34 Sate Like a house-god, her hands fixed on her knee.
1995 C. B. Divakaruni Arranged Marriage (1997) 209 The heavy teak panel carved with fierce-looking house gods.
house governor n. British (now chiefly historical) the head of administration in a hospital or similar institution.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > healer > non-medical worker > [noun] > hospital administrator
hospitaller1552
matron1612
house governor1787
1787 A. Kincaid Hist. Edinb. iii. 200 The internal management of the Hospital..was..conducted by a House Governor with as many Masters as the number of boys rendered necessary.
1818 Times 22 Oct. 2/1 He would render essential service to the London Hospital, in the office of Chaplain and House-Governor.
1905 M. F. Reaney Med. Profession iii. 39 The actual daily command is vested in the secretary or house-governor.
1964 G. L. Cohen What's Wrong with Hospitals? iii. 47 Matron will hand complaints to the Catering Officer, who refers to the House Governor, who sends a memo to the management committee.
2007 Times (Nexis) 21 Dec. 27 When I started working in an NHS hospital, management consisted of the house governor, his deputy and matron, who together with the medical staff committee made all the key decisions.
house-green n. chiefly English regional (now rare) the common houseleek, Sempervivum tectorum.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Crassulaceae (stonecrop and allies) > [noun] > houseleek
sinfulleOE
fulleOE
homeworteOE
sengreenc1000
houseleeka1400
jubarbc1450
ay-green1562
sempervivum1591
imbreke1597
Jupiter's eye1597
sea-green1601
sempervive1625
semper-vivens1672
house-green1688
cyphel1691
fouat1822
bullock's eye1861
Jupiter's beard1861
thunder-plant1866
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. 88/2 House-leeke..is called generally with us by the name of House-green.
1756 Reid's Scots Gardiner (rev. ed.) 168 Gardiners ought to be careful how they expose any House Greens, or Exotick Plants to the open air.
1854 S. Thompson Wanderings among Wild Flowers (ed. 2) iii. 241 You may probably meet..that very near connexion of the sedums, the house-leek or house-green (Sempervivum tectorum).
1873 Eng. Mechanic & World of Sci. 24 Jan. 467/3 Pound the leaves of house leek, sometimes called house ‘green’, in a mortar.
1955 G. Grigson Englishman's Flora 182 House-green, N'thants, War, Ches; Houseleek, Suff, N'hants, Yks, West.
house guest n. a guest in a house (in various senses); (now spec.) a guest staying for some days in a private house; also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabitant > temporary inhabitant > [noun] > in another's house
strangerc1400
visitor1576
visiter1592
house guest1609
sojourner1609
visitant1769
house party1827
cuckoo1872
society > leisure > social event > hospitality > guest > [noun] > staying in house
house guest1609
1609 S. Rowlands Knave of Clubbes sig. B5 Drawing his dagger, wounding him againe, With that, house-guests prest in the roome amain.
a1714 M. Henry Serm. in J. B. Williams Mem. S. Savage (1821) 214 Where God shall not be a heart-guest he will not be a house-guest.
1860 H. Grote Mem. Life Ary Scheffer iv. 38 ‎After the ‘dejeuner’, the house guests withdrew.
1876 G. T. Chesney Dilemma in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Feb. 199/2 It was towards the end of his short visit, when he had come to know Yorke better, that he made a partial confidant of the house guest.
1921 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 1 Apr. 8/3 Miss Helen MacDonald..invited a number of her girl friends to meet her house guest, Miss Helen Whiteside.
1970 N. Armstrong et al. First on Moon iii. 61 She was conscious about getting ready for houseguests—her father and stepmother.
2008 New Yorker 17 Mar. 83/2 Hitler, a regular house-guest and devoted fan affectionately referred to as ‘Uncle Wolf.’
house help n. a domestic worker (originally a servant); a home help (see help n. 3c).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > domestic servant > [noun]
hirdmanc993
hirdcnihtc1000
hirdcnavec1275
hirdswainc1275
hewea1350
officerc1375
homely mana1382
meniala1387
household servant1427
homely womana1500
domestical?c1550
comprador1615
domestic1623
spider-brusher1833
house help1837
domiciliary1844
hoghenhine1848
kitchen mechanic1861
home helper1864
home help1883
1837 T. C. Haliburton Clockmaker 1st Ser. viii. 62 Well, he roared like a bull, till..one of the house helps..let him go.
1958 Listener 14 Aug. 249/1 Foreign house-helps in London, S.W.
1970 Canad. Antiques Collector Feb. 24/1 Presently in came two well-dressed house-helps, one with a splendid gilt lamp..and another with a tea-tray.
2005 J. M. Coetzee Slow Man vi. 37 Come on Sunday. Come to dinner. I have some excellent cannelloni that my house help has prepared.
house-hunt v. intransitive to seek a house to buy or rent; to engage in house-hunting.
ΚΠ
1812 S. T. Coleridge Let. 10 Feb. (1959) III. 366 We were house-hunting for a month & more—& the prices really sickened me.
1922 M. Widdemer Winona on her Own vii. 165 They were staying for a few days with the Bryans, but they also were house-hunting, or flat-hunting.
2000 House Beautiful Sept. 110/1 Preparing for transferral back to New York..an American financier and his young family found themselves house hunting by mail.
house hunter n. a person who engages in house-hunting.
ΚΠ
1831 Pocket Mag. 1 253 You fortify your memory with all the desiderata which the most experienced House-Hunter may have it in his power to suggest for your information.
1902 G. R. Sims Living London II. 216/1 The fashionable house-hunter cannot go very far afield in search of his new address.
2010 Belfast Tel. Home Finder (Nexis) 15 Apr. 30 Most house hunters dream about walking into an incredibly well-appointed house, where there is little or no work to do.
house-hunting n. the action or process of seeking a house to buy or rent.
ΚΠ
1759 J. Newton Diary 23 Feb. in Deserted Village (1992) 12 Went an House hunting.
1797 Posthumous Daughter II. lxiv. 132 We are busied in house-hunting, and have seen several.
1831 A. A. Watts House-hunting in Pocket Mag. Lit. June 258 A tolerable..insight into the mysteries of House-hunting.
1930 Times Lit. Suppl. 31 July 625/2 To engage playfully in house-hunting.
1960 Guardian 15 Feb. 4/2 Her recent house-hunting in London.
2000 Personal Finance Jan. 22/1 Arrange a mortgage in principle before you start house-hunting.
house jobber n. = house farmer n.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > delegated authority > one having delegated or derived authority > [noun] > steward or bailiff in charge of another's property
town-reeveeOE
reeveeOE
gravec1175
procuratorc1300
dispender1340
provost1340
bailiec1375
officerc1375
dispenserc1380
proctora1382
dispensator1382
farmerc1384
approverc1386
husbanda1387
stewardc1405
chamberlain1423
procurer1477
factor1520
bailiff1528
land-steward1535
improver1536
grieve1537
amtman1582
administrator1596
stead-man1609
dapifer1636
vogt1694
house jobber1709
commissioner1760
foreman1774
house agent1793
ground-officer1815
land-agent1846
wic-reeve1853
steadward1876
house farmer1882
house-knacker1884
land-sergeant1894
1709 C. Davenant Refl. Trade to Afr. I. 41 If it be an Abuse, have we not also Tally-Jobbers, Land-jobbers, House-Jobbers, Horse-Jobbers, and many other Jobbers too, who stand more in need of a Reformation.
1860 Times 1 Dec. 10/7 This proposal to me to turn house-jobber was made before my luggage was unpacked.
1885 1st Rep. Commissioners Housing of Working Classes 21 in Parl. Papers 1884–5 (C. 4402) XXX. 1 The system of middlemen, of house jobbers, house farmers, or house knackers, for by all these titles are designated those persons who stand between the freeholder and the occupier.
1991 L. Sante Low Life (2003) i. iii. 56 Massive Palladian temples went up along the downtown avenues to house jobbers, underwriters, import-exporters.
house-knacker n. now historical = house farmer n.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > delegated authority > one having delegated or derived authority > [noun] > steward or bailiff in charge of another's property
town-reeveeOE
reeveeOE
gravec1175
procuratorc1300
dispender1340
provost1340
bailiec1375
officerc1375
dispenserc1380
proctora1382
dispensator1382
farmerc1384
approverc1386
husbanda1387
stewardc1405
chamberlain1423
procurer1477
factor1520
bailiff1528
land-steward1535
improver1536
grieve1537
amtman1582
administrator1596
stead-man1609
dapifer1636
vogt1694
house jobber1709
commissioner1760
foreman1774
house agent1793
ground-officer1815
land-agent1846
wic-reeve1853
steadward1876
house farmer1882
house-knacker1884
land-sergeant1894
1884 Rep. Comm. Housing Working Classes in H. Broadhurst & R. T. Reid Leasehold Enfranchisement (1885) 43 The system of middlemen, of house jobbers, house farmers, or house knackers, for by all those titles are designated those persons who stand between the freeholder and the occupier.
1885 Ld. W. Compton in Pall Mall Gaz. 14 Apr. 1/2 To show the evil results of the middleman or ‘house-knacker’ system.
1945 C. Attlee in Times 12 June 5/5 I knew conscientious landlords and honourable house agents who agreed with me in abhorring the practices of the slum landlord and the house-knacker.
1993 S. Taylor Land of Dreams v. 55 ‘House-knackers’ could take a house on a lease from the landlord and ‘knacker’ it into single rooms at a considerable profit.
house lady n. [after houselord n.] now archaic or regional the mistress of a household; the lady of the house; cf. lady of the house n. at lady n. Phrases 1a(a).Apparently unattested between the 13th and 19th centuries.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > rule or government of family or tribe > head of family, tribe, or clan > [noun] > head of household > woman
ladyeOE
house lady?c1225
housewifec1225
goodwifec1275
mistressa1375
hussy1530
madam1647
goodya1680
housemistress1689
the Mrs1821
housemother1822
miesiesa1931
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 303 Marthe meoster is tofede poure & schruden as hus lefdi.
1865 J. Ruskin Sesame & Lilies 112 This power of the Dominus, or House Lord, and of the Domina, or House-Lady, is great.
1974 D. Goines Daddy Cool xii. 161 Miss,..I'm the painter that the houselady requested to come over.
2008 Nation (Pakistan) (Nexis) 22 Apr. Nargis, a house lady, said after the increase in the prices of ghee and oil, the monthly budget of a family was much disturbed.
house light n. (a) one of the (esp. interior) lights of a house; (b) (in plural) the lights in the auditorium of a theatre, etc., which are dimmed or extinguished during a stage performance.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > theatrical equipment or accessories > [noun] > house-lights
house light1890
1764 V. J. Peyton Compend. Dict. French Lang. at Veuë A house light.
1823 New Times 24 Apr. [This lamp] may even be used about the bed of sickness without danger; and as a moving or house light, is a protection of the carpets from tallow or wax.
1890 Electr. Engineer 19 Nov. 562/1 These switches, it will be noted, regulate both the stage and the house lights.
1920 P. G. Wodehouse Jill the Reckless xviii. 320 The house-lights went up.
1991 J. Caplan Memories of Gorbals (BNC) 64 It was late when I reached home, almost midnight. To my surprise the house lights were full on.
2006 Wired Sept. 90/2 The houselights darken, and a half-dozen musicians dressed in black take the stage.
house lighter n. now rare a lighter (lighter n.1) having a section for living in.Cf. houseboat n., house-barge n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessels with other specific uses > [noun] > houseboat
house lighterc1761
houseboat1772
chop1859
house-barge1860
c1761 Advt. in Mariner's Mirror (1993) 79 162 The above eight Lighters and two Horse-Boats will make two good Gangs, there being two Masts and two House-lighters.
1891 A. J. Foster Ouse 170 The house-lighter, so called because a part of it makes a cabin for the men.
1913 Monthly Weather Rev. 1912 (U.S.) 40 1439/2 At Jefferson Street Wharf a house-lighter sank with a cargo of naval stores.
house log n. North American a log suitable for, or used in, the construction of a house.
ΚΠ
1798 Weekly Mag. 26 May 118/2 Joseph Willis was caught by a plank across his legs, with several house logs on it.
1878 Rep. Indian Affairs (U.S.) 65 The timber, as a rule, is not valuable, except for the rails and house-logs, very little of it being suitable for working into lumber.
1999 Log Home Living Nov. 394/1 These homes are built from the best ‘house logs’ found anywhere.
house-loom n. [in sense (a) after heirloom n.] †(a) = heirloom n.; also figurative (obsolete) (archaic in later use); (b) (later) a weaver's loom suitable for use in the home (now historical).
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the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > heritable property > heirloom
loom1424
heirloom1472
house-looma1685
family jewels1735
family portrait1814
a1685 M. Evelyn Mundus Muliebris (1690) Pref. sig. A3 Her prudent Mother, whose Nuptial Kirtle, Gown and Petticoat..were at last bequeathed with a Purse of old Gold..as an House-Loom to her Grand-Daughter.
1697 J. Evelyn Numismata iii. 68 They..fixt them as House-Looms to the Inheritance.
1807 S. T. Coleridge Marginalia (1984) II. 98 He has been robbed..of the very house-loom of his human nature.
1821 Niles' Weekly Reg. 23 June 257/1 I began..to clothe myself and my family in homespun, by the house-loom.
1902 C. Wheeler How to make Rugs 109 The elaborate blue-and-white spreads our grandmothers wove upon the cumbrous house-loom of that period.
2009 T. Gautreaux Missing 16 Their mother made their clothes on a house loom.
† house mail n. Scottish Obsolete (historical in later use) mail (mail n.1) or rent on a house; a sum paid for this.
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a1542 in P. H. Brown Scotl. before 1700 (1893) (modernized text) 37 To the good-wife of the house where the Herald of Flanders was lodged, for the housemail the time of his being there, iij ll.
1609 J. Skene tr. Regiam Majestatem 125 Gif thy mail-man will not pay to thee the house maill at the terme.
1640 R. Baillie Let. 18 Nov. (1841) I. 272 Our house maills everie week above eleven pound Sterling.
1721 in H. Paton Minnigaff Parish Rec. (1939) 375 Lent to Janet M'Kie one of our enrooled poor to help to pay her hous male twelve pence.
1893 P. H. Waddell Old Kirk Chron. 157 Those who received regular help were called the Session's ‘pensioners’; and what they got was usually valued in victual and ‘house mail’.
house manager n. originally U.S. (a) a person who runs a household; spec. a housekeeper or steward; (b) the manager of a theatre, club, concert hall, hotel, etc. (cf. earlier playhouse manager n. at playhouse n. Compounds 1).
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society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > the staging of a theatrical production > people concerned with theatrical productions > [noun] > theatre manager
stage-keepera1586
actor-manager1826
actress-manageress1888
house manager1894
player-manager1895
intendant1958
1836 E. Robinson Greek & Eng. Lexicon of New Test. 561/2 A house-manager, overseer, steward.
1894 A. Thayer Ah There! 250 After the first act the manager of the company was greatly discouraged [by the lack of applause]..and, going to the house manager, he said: ‘Well, they don't appear to like us.’
1922 R. Wright in E. R. Peyser Cheating the Junk-pile Introd. p. xiii The housewife of today is to her home what a man is to his office. She is a house manager, a Domiologist.
1968 M. Culpan Vasiliko Affair ii. 14 The house-manager, a courteous but wary young man in a dinner jacket.
1998 Indianapolis Monthly Mar. 212/2 The couple retains only one full-time staffer, a house manager whose main job is to ‘employ the other services the house requires’.
2004 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 22 Dec. a18/6 The management decided that the performance could not go on, and the house manager was dispatched to break the news to the audience.
housemonger n. now rare (usually with derogatory implication) a dealer in or seller of houses.
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society > trade and finance > trader > traders or dealers in specific articles > [noun] > in land and property
housemonger1604
land-jobber1745
estate agent1880
realtor1916
1604 S. Rowlands Looke to It 32 House-mongers, that on earth would euer dwell: Grinding the poore, as their distresses shoe.
1884 Pall Mall Gaz. 20 Mar. 1 The purchase of fag ends of leases by speculating housemongers.
1924 Times 17 July 10 Housemongers supply the one article just now which is most in demand.
1989 Sun Herald (Sydney) (Nexis) 21 May (Tempo section) 155 The deal was handled by Double Bay housemonger Billy Bridges.
house mover n. (a) (chiefly North American) a person who moves houses, usually from one site to another; (also) a machine or device employed in this; (b) a person who moves furniture and other belongings from one residence to another; a furniture remover.
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society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > other manual or industrial workers > [noun] > who move furniture
house mover1834
remover1861
mover1894
furniture-remover1895
removalist1904
moving man1922
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor lorry, truck, or van > [noun] > transporter > types of
tank transporter1922
house mover1959
1834 A. Greaves Æsop Jr. in Amer. lxviii. 169 They saw a party of men who, under the directions of Mr. Safelift, the noted house-mover, were employed..in moving and turning the house.
1885 tr. F. Du Boisgobey Omnibus Myst. in Sensational Novels I. ix. 219 Now take the easel on your back... It will be a nice little surprise..when we make our appearance, looking like house-movers.
1916 B. Tarkington Seventeen v. 25 A set of Louis XVI furniture which some house-movers were unpacking upon the sidewalk.
1959 Times 18 June (Suppl. Queen in Canada) p. vi/3 In all, 525 homes were lifted from their old foundations and, cradled in the steel framework of the housemovers, moved to their new locations.
2009 Atlanta Jrnl.-Constit. (Nexis) 1 Nov. 1 b Lifting a home is an option that makes less sense for lower-priced homes..said John Landers Jr., part-owner of Hercules House Movers. Landers is a third-generation house mover.
house moving n. (a) (chiefly North American) the action or an act of moving a house from one site to another; (b) the action or process of moving oneself and one's furniture, possessions, etc., from one house to another.
ΚΠ
1824 Niles' Weekly Reg. 6 Mar. 16 House moving. A Mr. Brown, of New York, advertises..that he is ready to engage in removing houses of brick, wood and stone, without any injury to them.
1854 J. Alden Rupert Cabell (new ed.) iii. 35 ‘Where are you going?’ ‘We are going to a house-moving.’
1866 J. E. H. Skinner After Storm II. xxiv. 25 A covered waggon hove in sight... On account of their furniture, we conjectured this party to be engaged in house-moving.
1931 E. Ferber Amer. Beauty xiv. 284 Quite a sizable crowd..had gathered to watch the house-moving. The magnificent old structure..trundling down the highway..was like a duchess on skates.
1989 T. Parker Place called Bird xvi. 186 House moving is just what it says, moving people's houses for them: the whole house, contents and all.
2005 Sevenoaks Chron. (Nexis) 31 Mar. 20 A reliable and efficient estate agent... excels in helping to relieve the stress of house moving.
house Negro n. U.S. (now historical or as a term of derision) a black household slave or (later) servant. Cf. field Negro n. at field n.1 Compounds 5.
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society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > domestic servant > [noun] > black
house Negro1711
house nigger1840
1711 Boston News-let. 21 May 2/2 (advt.) A Young House-Negro Wench of 19 Years of Age that speaks English to be Sold.
1771 in Maryland Hist. Mag. (1919) 14 135 You will have it that my People are not well fed, it is true they do not live so well as our House negroes, But full as well as any Plantation negroes.
1811 Ann. Reg. 64/2 She was a favourite house negro in her former master's family, and had nursed one of his children.
1936 M. Mitchell Gone with the Wind iii. 49 The house-negroes..considered themselves superior to white trash.
1996 New Yorker 8 Apr. 72/2 Ever since Malcolm X..the epithet ‘house Negro’ had been a staple of militant invective.
2010 Reading (Pa.) Eagle (Nexis) 22 Feb. She [sc. the abolitionist Harriet Tubman] was spirited as a youngster and was considered too clumsy and arrogant to be a ‘house Negro’, so they put her to work in the fields.
house nigger n. U.S. = house Negro n. (now historical); (in extended use) any servile black person.Now considered offensive; cf. note at nigger n. 1.
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society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > domestic servant > [noun] > black
house Negro1711
house nigger1840
1840 Emancipator (N.Y.) 22 Oct. A gentleman from Georgia who has just bought a plantation out West in Alabama, and is buying a few house niggers to take out.
1880 J. C. Harris Uncle Remus (1884) 116 Dey er mighty biggity, dem house niggers is, but I notices dat dey don't let nuthin' pass.
1970 G. Jackson Let. 4 Apr. in Soledad Brother (1971) 207 This running dog..was transmitting the credo of the slave to our youth, the mod version of the old house nigger.
2003 M. Salzman True Notebooks x. 106 They set all this stuff up to turn us into house niggers, that's all.
house number n. originally U.S. one of a series of numbers allotted to houses in a street to enable visitors to identify them, facilitate the delivery of mail, etc.; (also) a representation of this in numerals, esp. when affixed to a wall, door, gatepost, or the like.
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1850 Doc. Board of Aldermen of N.Y. XVII. 280 Nor are the..older parts of the city free from the same difficulties, irregularity in the house numbers, and duplicates of them, often occurring.
1895 Montgomery Ward Catal. Spring & Summer 396/2 House numbers, 3 inch, made of brass and nicely nickel plated.
1972 C. Weston Poor, Poor Ophelia (1973) vi. 29 Casey began looking for house numbers.
2004 Daily Tel. 26 Apr. 9/2 A postcode search engine that..will narrow down the numbers of households..by combining house numbers with full postcodes.
house officer n. (a) a person who holds a particular office or position in a household; (b) (chiefly British) a recent medical graduate receiving supervised training in a hospital and acting as an assistant physician or surgeon.In sense (b) sometimes with modifying word, esp. in junior house officer, senior house officer (see quot. 1969). House officers were formerly often (but not always) resident in the hospital to which they were appointed.
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the world > health and disease > healing > healer > physician > [noun] > hospital or clinic physician > junior hospital level
intern1827
registrar1836
internist1848
house officer1867
houseman1924
1683 Mem. Sir J. Melvil 186 Divers are the causes of the disorders in your Court, and House-Officers, and Servants.
1797 Lady's Mag. 28 575 The Royal Cavalcade. I. House officers of the duke of Gloucester. 2. His royal highness the duke of Gloucester.
1867 Harvard Coll. Class of 1864 33 He was acting House Officer at the City Hospital..till May 1, 1867.
1905 School Jrnl. 26 Aug. 178 Each cottage provides a..comfortable home for a family of forty boys with the house officers and servants.
1934 E. MacManus Hosp. Admin. for Women ii. iii. 65 When doing ‘a morning round’ with a House Physician or Surgeon... the Sister should stand on one side of the bed, the House Officer on the other.
1969 S. G. Hill in J. F. Milne & N. W. Chaplin Mod. Hosp. Managem. iii. 46 In most hospitals and in most specialties, the medical team comprises the consultant who is the senior doctor, the registrar (a doctor of some four or five years' experience), and either a junior house officer (a newly qualified doctor holding a pre-registration post) or senior house officer (a doctor with rather more experience).
2002 L. Gold Good Hosp. Guide 39 Pre-registration House Officer... All newly qualified doctors spend a year training in a hospital as a House Officer.
house organ n. (a) a small organ suitable for use in a private house, chapel, etc. (cf. chamber organ n. at chamber n. Compounds 4) (now chiefly historical); (b) a publication produced by a particular company, business, or group and dealing mainly with its own activities (cf. Compounds 7).
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society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > keyboard instrument > types of organ > [noun] > small organ
regalc1475
portativea1525
chamber organ1673
positive1728
positive organ1728
house organ1758
apollonicon1834
organette1849
organetto1876
1758 E. Whalley Let. 16 Sept. in B. Franklin Papers (1965) VIII. 162 He put up the Chimes in our Church, made a House-organ, and..used frequently to amuse himself with playing upon it.
1867 H. R. Stiles Hist. City of Brooklyn I. ix. 308 Among the elegant furniture which they owned was a house-organ, which was always played when the family were at meals.
1886 Western Druggist Sept. 361/1 The ‘Southern Druggist and Home Doctor’ is the latest venture in ‘house organ’ pharmaceutical journalism and probably the most discreditable.
1969 ‘E. Lathen’ Murder to Go xvii. 171 Chicken Feed, house organ of the Chicken Tonight organization, was not due for three weeks.
1992 Step-by-Step 8 i. 138/2 Annual reports and house organs must reflect diversity.
2000 A. Labounsky Jean Langlais iv. 84 House organs were not in great supply, but..affluent music lovers..held recitals in their homes.
house paddock n. Australian and New Zealand an enclosure, typically for horses, adjacent to the house on a rural property.
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1889 Zealandia 1 341 The cattle on the hills were beginning to suffer from drought, and were driven down to the house paddocks to be near the water.
1894 Bulletin (Sydney) 20 Oct. 23/2 The house-paddock slip-rail edges a side-slope leading down to ‘the crossing’.
1986 B. Richards Off Sheep's Back 66 We unharnessed the horses and turned them loose in the ‘house paddock’.
2010 Newcastle (Austral.) Herald (Nexis) 23 Jan. 37 The land, divided into four paddocks including a house paddock, is gently undulating.
house painter n. a person whose job is painting and decorating the interior or exterior of houses.
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society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > decorator > [noun] > painter > house-painter
seiler1672
house painter1688
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 148/2 Seiler or House Painter.
1689 London Gaz. No. 2416/4 William Bishop of Reading, a House Painter.
1756 R. Rolt New Dict. Trade at Painter House-painter, one who paints things with plain colours, as wainscotting, doors, windows, frames.
1822 J. M. Good Study Med. I. 189 House-painters..are, often, too little attentive to personal cleanliness.
1936 Times 9 July 12/4 He..went to America in 1880, working in steel mills and coal mines, and as a paviour and house painter.
2002 Washington Post 16 Aug. (Home ed.) (Weekend section) 44/1 Stuck in a stale marriage to a house painter named Phil.
house parent n. a person acting singly or jointly with another as head of a community of (young) persons living together; a housemother or housefather.
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society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinship group > family > [noun] > family or household > head of community of young persons
house parent1859
1859 Ann. Rep. Missionary Soc. Methodist Episcopal Church 27 We have a very pious couple, Brother Gamier and wife, as house-parents; a teacher, Mr. Richter, to instruct in the German and English languages.
1951 M. Buchanan Children's Village 18 There are almost 200 children in the Village now. Each house has in it 15 or 16 boys and girls, their house-parents,..and a teacher-help.
2004 Daily Tel. 1 Dec. 20/5 Most pupils..sleep peacefully, but there will always be others up to mischief. A house parent..can't spend every second patrolling the house.
house parlourmaid n. now rare (historical in later use) a female servant combining the functions of housemaid and parlourmaid.Cf. house chambermaid n.
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society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > domestic servant > [noun] > maid or housemaid > housemaid with other duties
house chambermaid1861
house waiting maid1863
house tablemaid1874
house parlourmaid1878
1878 Times 30 Jan. 3/3 (advt.) Two Servants Wanted—Good Plain Cook, to assist in housework, and House-Parlourmaid.
1930 Morning Post 17 June 18/5 (advt.) Married couple for bed and breakfast house; Kitchen Man and House-Parlourmaid.
2001 Independent (Nexis) 3 Apr. (Obituaries section) 6 Diana earned a precarious living as a waitress, cinema usherette and house parlourmaid, much to the disgust of her mother.
house parlourman n. a male servant whose work corresponds to that of a house parlourmaid.
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society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > domestic servant > [noun] > maid or housemaid > male equivalent
house parlourman1919
1919 Times 17 Sept. 3/5 (advt.) Married Couple for flat in Hove (ex-batman as House Parlourman and wife as plain cook).
1923 Daily Mail 25 Jan. 5 A number of men are becoming house-parlourmen.
1983 Times 27 Jan. 23 Cook Housekeeper and House Parlourman wanted... for beautiful lakeside home in extensive grounds near Guilford.
2001 N. Humble Feminine Middlebrow Novel (2004) iii. 119 [She] is forced to accept..a superior house-parlourman called Howard Fitzsimmons... The reader is left to suppose that Fitzsimmons is not a ‘real’ servant.
House-passed adj. (of a bill, legislation, etc.) approved by the United States House of Representatives.
ΚΠ
1943 Billboard 3 July 12/1 The House-passed measure then comes to the floor of the Senate for vote.
1975 New Scientist 27 Nov. 506/1 The Senate-passed Bills..included a requirement for extensive pre-market screening of new products; the House-passed Bills required considerably less testing.
2005 E. Blumenberg & M. Waller in B. Katz & R. Puentes Taking High Road viii. 215 The House-passed legislation could cost as much as $9 billion over five years.
† house-pentice n. Obsolete a sloping roof or ‘pentice’ extending from the side of a house; = penthouse n. 1a.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > roof > [noun] > penthouse
penthousea1400
house-pentice1614
pent1754
marquise1891
1614 T. Godwin Romanæ Historiæ Anthologia i. i. xvii. 13 Sheltred from the raine by the helpe of boards vpheld with forkes in manner of house-pentices.
house phone n. (a) a telephone in a residence, as opposed to one in a business, workplace, etc., or (in recent use) a mobile phone; (b) a phone used for internal calls only, typically in a hotel or apartment building.
ΚΠ
1896 Arena 16 646 (table) Yearly Rates. House Phone. Business Phone.
1908 S. Ford Side-stepping with Shorty ix. 137 There was no answer to the call on the house 'phone.
1935 Archit. Rev. 78 73 Raymond McGrath designed standard signal lights, clocks, buzzer and house-phone mountings.
1970 ‘W. Haggard’ Hardliners i. 11 There was a house-phone on the impressive desk.
1990 H. Engel Dead & Buried (1991) xxvii. 245 He walked over to a house phone and picked it up. I backed away.
2010 South Wales Echo (Nexis) 29 Apr. 34 I have a mobile and rarely use it... I use my house phone to contact anyone.
house physician n. a physician (originally a resident physician) in a hospital or other public institution; spec. (British) a preregistration house officer.In quot. 1650: †a physician who visits or is attached to a private household (obsolete).
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the world > health and disease > healing > healer > physician > [noun] > hospital or clinic physician > intermediate hospital level
house physician1753
house surgeon1757
resident1892
houseman1924
ressie1982
1650 S. Blaicklock in H. Brooke Υγιεινη To Rdr. sig. A2v This little Manuel will prove A House Physician, that in Love To each mans Health, will ready stay Without his Fee.
1753 N. Torriano tr. J. B. L. Chomel Hist. Diss. Gangrenous Sore Throat 6 The Fever increasing every Moment, they..sent in the Evening for the House-Physician.
1811 Acct. N.-Y. Hosp. i. 10 The house-physician and house-surgeon are required..to be prepared to report the state of the patients to the attending physicians and surgeons.
1905 M. F. Reaney Med. Profession iii. 39 Finally, there is a junior staff of house physicians and surgeons and the like, working directly under the visiting staff, and responsible for the treatment of the patients in their absence.
1986 Guardian (Nexis) 21 Jan. (Educ. section) After qualifying, all doctors must spend a further year under supervision as a house physician or surgeon before GMC registration and post-graduate training.
2009 Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch (Nexis) 11 Feb. b2 A spokeswoman at the hospital said he was never a house physician there.
house-piece n. regional (rare) = houseplace n.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > room > room by type of use > [noun] > living room > in farmhouse
hall-house1564
inseat1811
housea1825
houseplace1894
house-piece1920
1920 W. J. Locke House of Baltazar ix Baltazar's bedroom at the southern end, once separated from the house-piece by a wooden partition reaching to the rafters.
house pile n. a pile (pile n.1 3a) which supports a house, typically in a river or sea bed or on marshy ground.
ΚΠ
1854 H. Bache Rep. Finances 19 Oct. in Rep. Secretary of Treasury on Finances 314 A curved brace, to prevent contact with a house-pile [in the repairing of a lighthouse].
1930 M. Mead Growing up in New Guinea ii. 13 Around the stout house-piles the tides run.
2001 P. N. Peregrine & M. Ember Encycl. Prehist. III. 105/1 A circular hole of 30cm in diameter at Anyar, West Java..may reflect a house pile.
house pit n. Archaeology an excavated pit constituting the floor and walls of a semi-subterranean dwelling; cf. pit house n. 2.
ΚΠ
1899 Science Apr. 541/2 In the entire region examined, these abandoned house-pits was [sic] found.
1926 Amer. Jrnl. Archaeol. 30 333 Thirteen village sites, fifty-seven house pits, three burial caves were excavated.
1997 Oxoniensia 61 4 The Late Neolithic ‘house pits’ claimed rather tentatively elsewhere in southern England may also be of natural origin.
house plat n. North American a plat (plat n.3) on which a house has been or may be built.
ΚΠ
a1817 T. Dwight Trav. New-Eng. & N.-Y. (1821) II. xxii. 218 They furnish a succession of level surfaces for gardens, house-plats and court yards.
1977 Salt Lake Tribune 12 Apr. d5 Joseph Moore, county planner, told commissioners of increasing problems with house plats extending into..rights of way.
2005 Providence (R.I.) Jrnl. (Nexis) 9 Aug. b1 On the oldest map, the list of names on house plats..read like a who's who of Providence luminaries.
house pride n. pride in one's house; desire to keep one's house clean and tidy or (in negative use) preoccupation with the care and appearance of one's home (cf. house-proud adj.).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pride > [noun] > other types of pride
self-pridea1586
pride and prejudice1610
purse-pride1648
beggar-pride1764
house pride1847
pride1870
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > cleaning house > [noun] > desire to have house clean and tidy
house pride1847
1847 Sharpe's London Mag. 26 June 137/2 The Saxons had little ‘house-pride’; the Normans, in time, much.
1909 Daily Chron. 7 Dec. 1/2 The ‘instinct of house-pride’ seems almost never entirely wanting in the home studied.
1936 Punch 19 Oct. 600/1 The joke of Felix's housepride continues a trifle too long.
2004 Tin House 6 12 I find Cindy's girlishness loathsome—her fakey hostess patter, fluttering lashes, house pride, her complete and utter dedication to the veneer.
house property n. (as a mass noun) residential properties collectively; (also as a count noun) a residential property.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > a dwelling > a house > [noun] > collectively
housingc1384
house property1789
1789 J. Gray in G. Dempster Disc. Procs. Soc. for Extending Fisheries Great Brit. 53 In progress of time land or house-property will no doubt be monopolized by the saving and industrious.
1874 C. Walford Insurance Cycl. III. 526 The house property over which the ins[urance] extends is revalued every 7 years.
1944 E. E. Haycraft in R. Greenhalgh Pract. Builder v. 213/1 The bulk of the casement frames and sashes used in the construction of house property is manufactured by mass-production methods.
1993 F. Collymore RSVP to Mrs Bush-Hall 120 He was a member of the parish vestry, owned no fewer than a dozen house properties.
house-proud adj. proud of one's house; attentive to or (now sometimes) unduly preoccupied with the care and appearance of the home.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pride > [adjective] > proud in other ways
pursy1602
lion-sick1609
purse-proud1634
house-proud1822
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > cleaning house > [adjective] > desirous of having house clean and tidy
house-proud1822
1822 in L.-M. Hawkins Anecd., Biogr. Sketches & Mem. 139 Did you ever..see one of them who was not either purse-proud, house-proud, horse-proud, or proud in some way or other?
1849 C. Brontë Shirley II. vii. 169 You are what you call house-proud; you like to have everything handsome about you.
1899 Daily News 17 Oct. 4/7 It is a bad thing for the mother of a family if she cannot be a little ‘house-proud’.
1932 Times Lit. Suppl. 1 Sept. 603/2 His wife, house-proud as most North Country women are.
2007 Independent 30 Jan. 7/1 Fake dog shit to put on your houseproud aunt's Sheraton rug.
house pump n. now chiefly historical a pump which supplies water for domestic use.
ΚΠ
1747 B. Martin Philosophia Britannica I. v. 310 If such an Air-Vessel were adapted to the Common House Pump, it would then become..very useful for extinguishing Fires that may happen in or near the House.
1879 O. J. Lodge Elem. Mech. xiii. 185 A house-pump can also be used to lift water up to a cistern on the top of the house.
1922 Archit. Forum Dec. 293/2 The plumbing system includes the entire water supply, both hot and cold, from the house pump to the house tank.
1998 J. A. Truett Clay Allison xxxix. 256 He'd just washed his face at the house pump when they rattled up in the buggy.
house-raiser n. now chiefly North American a person who raises or builds a house; a person or company engaged in house raising.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > builder > [noun] > builder of houses
housera1400
housewright1549
house-raisera1639
housebuilder1681
homebuilder1855
a1639 H. Wotton Parallel betweene Earle of Essex & Duke of Buckingham (1641) 9 Wee knowe the people are apter to applaud housekeepers then house-raisers.
1845 W. Bernan Hist. & Art Warming & Ventilating Rooms & Buildings II. ix. 3 All this suffering..was produced in his and by-gone times by house-raisers feeling they had done their duty when they had provided hearths.
1875 J. T. Trowbridge Young Surveyor xl. 285 Jack adjusted his compass, while the house-raisers looked on, to see how the thing was done.
1992 San Francisco Chron. (Nexis) 25 June a1 Roads are open and clear [after an earthquake], and contractors and house-raisers are pouring over the town.
house raising n. North American the construction of a house, esp. the setting up of the wooden framework, as a communal activity; a gathering of neighbours to do this.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > social event > social gathering > [noun] > gatherings for specific activity
apple paring1656
house raising1704
quilting1768
bee1769
sing-song1769
reading party1781
rocking1786
cotton-picking1795
rolling1819
picking bee1828
candy pulling1834
candy pull1845
taffy-join1854
barn-raising1856
taffy pulling1863
coffee shop1880
log-rolling1883
taffy pull1883
petting party1920
play date1975
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > [noun] > building or constructing houses > gathering of neighbours in order to
house raising1704
1704 in Hist. Coll. Essex Inst. (1866) VIII. 223 I was at my L[and-]Lords house raising.
a1791 F. Hopkinson in Edinb. Mag. (1797) Apr. 281/1 You may have seen a house raising, or a Ship-launch, when all the hands within reach are collected together: recollect, if you can, the hurry, bustle, confusion, and noise of such a scene.
1829 Vindicator (Montreal) 22 Dec. 3/2 A man..who, with some others, attended at a house-raising six miles from this town.
1843 Amer. Pioneer 2 451 The frequent necessity for united efforts at house-raisings, log-rollings, corn-huskings, &c.
1927 J. D. Freeman When West was Young 415 They would..reach the West in time for a big house-raising which would be given them by the entire neighborhood.
1949 Time 2 May 22/2 It was just like an old-fashioned house-raising bee.
2008 Times & Transcript (New Brunswick) (Nexis) 26 Aug. d3 Barn and house raisings were still popular in the '30s and '40s.
house renter n. †(a) a person or organization that lets a house to others, a landlord (obsolete rare); (b) a person who pays rent for a house, a tenant.
ΚΠ
1789 J. Gray in G. Dempster Disc. Procs. Soc. For Extending Fisheries Great Brit. 52 There should be no other ground or house-renter in each settlement but the Company.
1831 W. Carpenter Let. Ld. Brougham 11 Mar. 8/1 in Polit. Lett. & Pamphlets Stamp Duty No. 25 There, not only the 5l. house-renters were to be disfranchised, as well as the 50l. and 20l. freeholders.
1907 Painter & Decorator Nov. 648/2 If the house renter can become a house owner, he will be better off.
2005 D. B. Danbom Going it Alone v. 139 A Forum survey of homeowners and house renters in 1935 reckoned the city's per household income at about $1,350 per year.
house-ridden adj. [ < house n.1 + -ridden (in bedridden adj.)] confined to the house, esp. by illness.
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society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restraint depriving of liberty > confinement > [adjective] > confined > to house, office, or town
homebound1794
house-ridden1835
town-bound1835
housefast1855
housebound1878
office-bound1961
1835 Southern Lit. Jrnl. Sept. 23 In the vain effort to walk, I have let fall my crutch, and so long have I been a house-ridden invalid, that, [etc.].
1895 Notes & Queries 8th Ser. 8 468/2 A poor house-ridden octogenarian.
1973 Times 6 Feb. 28 (advt.) Houseridden mother wants lessons in ‘A’ level English.
2008 Press & Jrnl. (Aberdeen) (Nexis) 26 Dec. 15 At the age of 51, she is house-ridden and spends 22 hours a day in bed.
house rule n. (a) household management (cf. economy n. 2a) (rare); (b) a rule observed by or within a particular group, residence, establishment, etc.
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society > authority > control > [noun] > management or administration > domestic management
housewifeship?c1225
cove and keyc1250
husbandryc1300
economica1393
ménagea1393
householda1398
householdinga1425
housewifery1440
economyc1454
economics1535
house rule1579
householdry1581
managery1586
housekeeping1652
household management1741
notability1756
homebuilding1757
domestic economy1778
Wirtschaft1841
homekeeping1846
housecraft1848
homemaking1863
home economics1872
home science1886
household science1896
domestic science1897
1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 392 A parte whereof is Oeconomia, commonly called houserule.
1766 Jrnl. House of Representatives Massachusetts-Bay Contents 230 Extract, House rules.
1828 Farrier & Naturalist Oct. 446 They wear a regular uniform..and have, in every respect, the appearance of a set of grown-up school-boys, being subject to a strict set of house rules.
1918 Insurance Press 11 Sept. 17/3 Economies is a term derived from two Greek words, meaning respectively house and rule and hence means house-rule or house-hold management.
1939 N.Y. Herald Tribune 22 July 12/1 The house specialty is known as a Tortuga and is built with nine ounces of Jamaica rum. One to a customer is the house rule.
2002 A. Phillips Prague iii. viii. 231 ‘Don't do that,’ she frowned in unfeigned disapproval. ‘First house rule: Don't do that.’
house sale n. a sale of a house; (also) a sale of some or all of the contents of a house, often conducted on the premises.
ΚΠ
1839 Amer. Farmer 23 Oct. 174/3 The exorbitancy of some Lot and House sales in Cities.
1855 Water-cure Jrnl. Apr. 95/2 We will give personal attention to House Sales, Furniture, etc., by Auction, in any part of the city.
1999 D. Cathers Stickley Style 109 One early purchase had been the tall Stickley spindle side chair now in their upstairs sitting room, discovered at a house sale for $5.
2009 H. M. Schwartz Subprime Nation iv. 98 Stamp duties on mortgages in Belgium start at 10 percent, and many EU countries impose a substantial value-added tax (VAT) on house sales.
house sand n. now historical a type of fine white sand used for household purposes, as scouring, blotting ink, etc.
ΚΠ
1742 H. Baker Microscope made Easy ii. x. 41 A grain of coarse Sea-Sand..which is equal in Bigness to several Grains of our common Inland House-Sand, or Writing-Sand.
1850 C. Holtzapffel Turning & Mech. Manip. III. 1091 Sand Paper is made with the common house sand, and only of one degree of coarseness, but in other respects exactly like glass paper.
1869 Mrs. Putnam's Receipt Bk. (new ed.) 291 For cleaning tin. Take fine house sand and soft soap; a good piece of cotton flannel; [etc.].
1989 R. Samuel in R. C. Burgess Field Res. (new ed.) v. xix. 216 The copper stick or the dolly mop cease to be inanimate objects if one listens to the men or women who used them,..the stained black knives are cleaned with Bath Brick or house sand.
house seat n. originally and chiefly North American (a) Politics (usually with capital initial in the first element) a place in the membership of a legislative or deliberative house; (b) a seat in a theatre, etc., reserved by the management for special guests.
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society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > auditorium > [noun] > seat or place > types of seat
pigeonhole1732
box seat1779
stall1828
orchestra seat1843
orchestra stall1849
fauteuil1859
sofa stall1862
stall seat1920
house seat1927
riser1945
1878 Inter Ocean (Chicago) 28 Nov. 5/1 (heading) The South Carolina and Louisiana contested House seats.
1926 Star-Jrnl. (Sandusky, Ohio) 29 Oct. 1/4 Democrats would have to win nine senate seats and 36 house seats.
1927 N.Y. Times 30 Oct. ix. 1/5 House seats, a few desirable seats reserved by the manager of the theatre or the producer of the show for personal use.
1949 Billboard 219 Nov. 48/1 The locations will come out of the ‘house seats’ reserved for the producers.
1963 Amer. Polit. Sci. Rev. 57 54/1 In order to include all districts where the House seat was contested in 1958 this table retains ten constituencies in which the incumbent Congressman did not seek re-election.
1999 J. McBeth in Post-Soeharto Indonesia i. 27 It is hard to tell whether the military is prepared to retreat any further from its line in the sand at ten percent of the House seats.
2009 Edmonton (Alberta) Jrnl. (Nexis) 20 Sept. b1 With Edmonton's coterie of theatre artists newly returned to action..it's the moment to survey our prospects from the house seats.
† house-shouldered adj. Obsolete rare having shoulders sloping on each side like the roof of a house.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > trunk > back > shoulder > [adjective] > types of
house-shouldered1552
huff-shouldered1590
broad-shouldered1591
thick-shouldered1965
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum House shouldred, dimissis humeris.
† house-sin n. Obsolete rare a private or secret sin.
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society > faith > aspects of faith > spirituality > sin > kinds of sin > [noun] > private
house-sin1645
1645 S. Rutherford Tryal & Triumph of Faith xv. 120 Kept from the incursion of a house sin, and a home-bred corruption.
house-size adj. of the size of a house; large; (also, occasionally) of a size suitable for use, storage, etc., in a house.
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1886 H. McCalley On Warrior Coal Field 17 There often lie scattered loose boulders, house-size in dimensions, which add much to the grandness..and picturesqueness of the scenery.
1901 Munic. Jrnl. & Engineer Dec. 264/2 A house-size generator is not over twenty-six by fifty-four inches on the bottom and perhaps fifty inches high.
2006 Alaska Mag. Sept. 10/1 The glacier..thunders and growls, periodically dumping house-size chunks of ice.
house-sized adj. = house-size adj.
ΚΠ
1931 Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci. 34 203 This group is on the southeast face of a house-sized boulder, at the valley edge.
1979 Pop. Sci. Oct. 76/1 A house-sized system would store about 40 kWh to meet the 25-kWh daily demand of an average home.
2006 C. Anderson Long Tail v. 59 Contemporary amateur astronomers can photograph the skies better than astronomers with house-sized telescopes a century ago.
housesmith n. a person who makes or fits metalwork for the building trade (now chiefly historical).
ΚΠ
1751 R. Morris Narr. Life John Daniel i. 1 A house-smith..bound me apprentice to him.
1854 Times 4 Jan. 3/2 (advt.) A youth, aged 18, is desirous of articling himself as an improver to a house smith.
1926 Amer. Mercury Apr. 417/1 During the last three years..schools have been maintained for the training of plumbers, bricklayers, painters, paperhangers, tile-setters, housesmiths and moulders.
2004 J. Rasenberger High Steel (2005) ii. 50 By the end of the nineteenth century, housesmiths had moved into the burgeoning market of structural iron and steel erection.
house speciality n. = house specialty n.; cf. spécialité de la maison n.
ΚΠ
1935 El Paso (Texas) Herald-Post 4 Nov. 4/3 The negus, it may be explained, is a house speciality containing orange and lemon juice and a big slosh of a black French liquor.
1976 Telegraph (Brisbane) 15 July 21/2 Korma is an Indian curry containing lamb, spices and yoghurt. It is one of the house specialities.
2002 T. Rosenbaum Golems of Gotham (2003) i. 3 What about sin? Well, nobody took that seriously anymore either. Another house speciality of Auschwitz.
house specialty n. chiefly North American a dish or drink considered to be the most characteristic or distinctive item served in a particular restaurant, bar, etc.; also in extended use.In quot. 1885 a notable product sold by a particular business.
ΚΠ
1885 R. Edwards New York's Great Industries 292/1 The beds of this house are located at Prince's Bay,..the line of trade embracing all first-class oysters, among which the famous ‘Monogram’ brand is made a ‘house specialty’.
1939 L. Beebe in N.Y. Herald Tribune 22 July 12/1 The house specialty is known as a Tortuga and is built with nine ounces of Jamaica rum.
1980 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 9 Feb. Hatchet murders, we are told, were the house specialty of the newspaper; its front page was a virtual abattoir.
2001 B. Geddes World Food: Caribbean 111 (caption) Roadside stall in Hado, where the house specialty is peanut soup.
house sport n. †(a) a sport or game played indoors (cf. house game n. (a)) (obsolete rare); (b) (chiefly British, in plural) games or sports played between the houses of a school (cf. house game n. (b)).
ΚΠ
1607 G. Markham Cavelarice iii. 1 What house sport is it which hath not from it [sc. hunting] some imitation?
1880 Hugh Russell at Harrow iii. 27 His house did not have house sports;..but they had a house steeple-chase, in which everybody, big and small, started.
1919 Times 19 Mar. 5 For those Old Etonians..there is much to be said for a crisp sunshiny after-four and three sets of house sports going on simultaneously.
2000 Nelson (N. Z.) Mail (Nexis) 15 July (Features section) 17 Nelson College enjoys an excellent reputation for achievement in sports... and house sports are a strong feature of college life.
house style n. a company's characteristic layout and presentation of written material; spec. the preferred spelling, grammar, and punctuation style of a particular publishing or printing house; also in extended use.Cf. earlier style of the house at sense A. 4f.
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society > communication > printing > record and reference books > [noun] > style sheet > business's set of conventions for punctuation
house style1905
1905 Mag. Business 8 142 Let me say a word about the much-mooted theory of style—business style, managerial style, and ‘house style’.
1940 R. Graves & A. Hodge Long Week-end xxv. 434 The publisher..has discovered..the well-produced book that has character and, hardly less important, the ‘house style’.
1967 Listener 17 Aug. 220/2 It is the galleries which tend to have a ‘house style’..which mount the most coherent exhibitions.
1992 Which? Dec. 53/2 House style for expressions repeated several times in the text is to spell out in full at first use and use the abbreviation thereafter.
2004 Times Lit. Suppl. 20 Aug. 11/2 He dismisses ‘the car which was stolen’ vs ‘the car that was stolen’ as meaningless variation, mere house-style.
house surgeon n. a surgeon resident in or attached to a hospital; now spec. (British) a house officer working in the field of surgery.In quot. 1605: a surgeon who attends to a house or household.Cf. house officer n. (b), house physician n.
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the world > health and disease > healing > healer > physician > [noun] > hospital or clinic physician > intermediate hospital level
house physician1753
house surgeon1757
resident1892
houseman1924
ressie1982
1605 J. Marston Dutch Courtezan sig. C 3 Mal. A tooth-ake, lady... Free. How far of dwels the house-surgeon?
1757 Public Advertiser 19 Feb. (advt.) There being a Vacancy in the Office of House Surgeon and Apothecary of this Hospital [etc.].
1825 J. Morison in Morisoniana (1831) 240 The house-surgeon having neglected to retain the elastic.
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 2nd Ser. 137 A certificate was read from the house-surgeon of a neighbouring hospital.
1972 ‘C. Fremlin’ Appointment with Yesterday ii. 17 Julian went from strength to strength. House-Surgeon, Registrar, Senior Registrar.
2010 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 2 Feb. 27 After qualifying MB BS in 1940 he became a casualty officer at the hospital, and then a house surgeon at Kingston County Hospital.
house swap n. originally U.S. an instance of house-swapping.
ΚΠ
1889 Cherokee Advocate (Tahlequah, Indian Territory) 3 Apr. Mr. S. S. Boyles moved last week to the dwelling which he got of Mr. Isaac Sixkiller in their house swap.
1956 Boston Sunday Globe 12 Feb. 12/1 Mr. and Mrs. George Pias are just as happy in their bungalow, formerly owned by the Tishuks. The unusual house swap a year ago took some doing.
1963 Times 6 Mar. 12/6 (heading) Holidays by way of the house-swap.
2007 C. Neggers Abandon ix. 89 They're doing a house swap with an Irish couple—they're in Ireland right now.
house-swap v. originally U.S. intransitive to engage in house-swapping.
ΚΠ
1975 Boston Sunday Globe 8 June (Globe section) 34/4 Try to housesit for someone. Or house-swap.
2002 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 9 Feb. 9 You can house-swap—in which case duty is only payable on the more expensive property and many swappers split the cost.
2007 Church Times 27 Apr. 19/1 David and Anthea Spurling have house-swapped for their annual holiday for more than 20 years.
house-swapping n. originally U.S. the action or practice of exchanging homes with another person or family, esp. temporarily as a cost-saving alternative to conventional accommodation options such as hotels.In quot. 1868 more generally: the exchange of one home for another (upon the expiration of a tenancy).
ΚΠ
1868 Galaxy May 645/1 (heading) Annual house-swapping.
1961 Washington Post 21 June c2/5 Another large family with a similar vacation problem..might be interested in the house-swapping idea for a change of scene and climate.
1992 San Diego Union-Tribune (Nexis) 17 Jan. f1 House swapping has recently gained popularity among buyers and sellers as an alternative way to move properties in a recessionary market.
2008 R. G. Johnson Poor Man's Provence 87 I call them friends, though we never physically met... I consider that a serious drawback of the house-swapping system.
house tablemaid n. now rare (historical in later use) a female servant combining the functions of housemaid and tablemaid.Cf. house chambermaid n., house parlourmaid n.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > domestic servant > [noun] > maid or housemaid > housemaid with other duties
house chambermaid1861
house waiting maid1863
house tablemaid1874
house parlourmaid1878
1874 Glasgow Herald 21 Sept. Servant:..good laundress. Also House Tablemaid.
1911 G. Watson Toddie viii. 70 As one of a civilized household, expected to run in treble harness with a cook and a house-table maid it must be admitted that Devina was a sad stumbling-block.
2009 Press & Jrnl. (Aberdeen) (Nexis) 21 May 4 At the age of 16 she gained her first employment as a house table maid at a private house in Aberdeen.
house tailor n. (a) a tailor employed by a particular household, hotel, department store, etc.; an in-house tailor; †(b) an upholsterer (obsolete).
ΚΠ
1611 Second Maiden's Trag. (1909) ii. i. 22 The deiection of thy mynde and spirrit..wronges thy mother in her ashes being at peace Wth heavne and man, had not her life and vertues Bin seales vnto her faithe, I should thinck thee now The worke of some hirde servaunt; some howse Tailor And no one part of my endeuour in thee.
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew House Tailers, upholsterers.
1724 J. M. Agreeable Variety (ed. 2) 320 A Vintner's Daughter and an Upholsterer's Daughter... A Vintner's and House Taylor's Breed.
1817 N. Amer. Rev. Jan. 237 The ridicule to which he was exposed for his dress, of which he had brought from home a large stock, manufactured by a house tailor, who..was at the same time house servant.
1914 O. P. Read New Mr. Howerson iii. 35 The house tailor can very soon make any needed alteration.
1995 San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News (Nexis) 28 Apr. (Peninsula Living section) 3 They come into the store to make their selections, are measured in the dressing room by a house tailor, and pay $500 or more for a suit.
house tax n. any of various taxes levied on houses; cf. house duty n.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > tax > types of tax > [noun] > property tax > house tax
house duty1666
house tax1694
1694 R. Molesworth Acct. Denmark in 1692 ix. 109 Land-Tax, House-Tax, Poll-Money, and Fortification-Money..are sometimes laid high, and sometimes low.
1787 in O. Browning Despatches fr. Paris (1909) I. 207 It is said that the Timbre, the House-Tax, and le commerce des Grains will be strongly oppos'd.
1833 J. S. Mill in Monthly Repository 7 580 A tradesman in Regent Street pays precisely as much house-tax (56l. 13s. 4d.) as the Duke of Devonshire pays for Chatsworth.
1868 J. E. T. Rogers Man. Polit. Econ. xxii. 20 In the case of the poor, a house-tax has special disadvantages.
1998 Chartered Surveyor Monthly May 34/1 The indigenous owner of a landed property might have to pay three types of property tax: a property tax (house tax): the yearly payment of [etc.].
house telephone n. = house phone n.
ΚΠ
1889 Telephone 2 Dec. 534/1 The installation of a house telephone recommends itself in large hotels.
1921 Spectator 23 Apr. 518/2 The house telephone.., its extremely ugly box ‘camouflaged’ with the pattern of the paper.
1950 T. S. Eliot Cocktail Party ii. 94 The house-telephone rings... Hello! yes, show him up.
1998 Daily Tel. 5 Feb. 21/1 While I am using the house telephone, I look across the lobby and see two rumpled, waifish figures staring at me.
house trailer n. †(a) a trailing house plant (obsolete rare); (b) U.S. a caravan or (now esp.) mobile home.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > a dwelling > other types of dwelling > [noun] > caravan
cart-house1603
caravan1805
house wagon1833
wagon1851
house trailer1885
caboose1912
mobile home1934
travel trailer1936
trailer home1940
static caravan1947
Dormobile1952
caravette1953
trailer house1954
motor home1961
double-wide1966
static1980
1885 Current 12 Dec. 376/3 The ‘Money-wort’..with its shining green foliage and bright yellow flowers, is a fine house trailer.
1921 Los Angeles Times 27 Sept. i. 13/8 (advt.) Anyone contemplating camping or touring trips can buy cheap the latest model folding house trailer, almost new, sleeps four.
1997 ‘S. Shem’ Mount Misery xx. 512 The house trailers were parked in neat rows, each with its propane tanks and those aluminium awnings you see on TV.
house trap n. (a) Plumbing a trap (trap n.1 8a) fitted where the soil pipe issues from a building in order to prevent sewer gas entering the domestic plumbing system (now chiefly historical); (b) originally U.S. a large aviary-like trap of mesh or wire netting, in which bait is laid to catch live birds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fowling > fowling equipment > [noun] > net
plover net1404
tunnelc1440
setter1526
trammel1530
bird net1533
day net1576
road net1581
sparrow-net1621
shaw-net1648
trammel-net1648
spreadnet1661
pocket-hay1704
bramble-net1706
clap-net1708
tunnel-net1721
funnel-net1774
bow-net1875
flight net1889
house trap1903
pouting-net1905
1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. I. 311/2 Self-acting valves for sewer and house-traps.
1903 New Eng. Mag. Nov. 324 A house-trap, of generous size, baited with grain, has proved an efficient and merciful reducer of the sparrow.
1918 S. E. Dibble Elem. of Plumbing xi. 104 When a house trap is being set, it is necessary to set it perfectly level, otherwise the seal of the trap is weakened and sewer gases can enter.
1960 E. Ennion House on Shore iv. 37 House traps of one kind or another, aviaries to all appearances, are to be found in many enthusiastic ringers' gardens.
1993 T. S. Baskett et al. Ecol. & Managem. Mourning Dove 385/2 ‎Other upland bird species were targeted for study as well, and the house traps served investigators well for all these species.
2004 Kansas City (Missouri) Star (Nexis) 11 July d2 Nowadays, every fixture has its own P-trap, so a house trap is no longer needed.
house type n. a type or variety of house.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > a dwelling > a house > types of house > [noun]
brownstone1868
house type1895
maisonette1949
multi1986
1895 Academy 23 Feb. 175/3 We have been specially interested by the notice of M. de Foville's inquiry into the house-types of different parts of France, as affected by the environment.
1936 Discovery Apr. 99/2 A distinctive Irish house-type.
1955 D. Chapman Home & Social Status vi. 84 The families living in different house-types have different social and economic characteristics.
2001 Financial Times 27 Jan. (Money section) 2/2 It [sc. a building company] has switched from building standard house types on relatively small sites, to concentrating on larger mixed-use sites.
house urn n. Archaeology a cinerary urn having the form of a round house with a conical roof; cf. hut urn n. at hut n.1 Compounds 2.
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the world > life > death > disposal of corpse > receptacle for remains > [noun] > cinerary urn > types of
olla1694
house urn1856
1856 Archaeol. Jrnl. 13 273 The peculiarity in the ‘house-urns’, which differ materially in their form, is that each has a door or window in the roof or the side, through which the contents were introduced.
1891 Tablet 12 Sept. 437 To bring the Italian and German house-urns into direct connection.
1949 W. F. Albright Archaeol. Palestine iv. 68 The chests and house-urns were all intended receive the bones of deceased persons after their flesh had decayed.
2005 R. Bradley Ritual Life Prehist. Europe iii. 99 House urns are ceramic models of buildings that portray details of their architecture such as doors, roofs and external decoration.
house wagon n. now rare a wagon serving as a house for a family or group; a covered wagon or caravan.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > a dwelling > other types of dwelling > [noun] > caravan
cart-house1603
caravan1805
house wagon1833
wagon1851
house trailer1885
caboose1912
mobile home1934
travel trailer1936
trailer home1940
static caravan1947
Dormobile1952
caravette1953
trailer house1954
motor home1961
double-wide1966
static1980
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > other vehicles according to specific use > [noun] > vehicle used as living accommodation
van1829
house wagon1833
living wagon1851
wagon1851
motor-van1898
motor caravan1909
van1922
trailer caravan1930
trailer1931
caravanette1934
mobile home1934
travel trailer1936
trailer home1940
static caravan1947
recreational vehicle1949
van1952
trailer house1954
caravette1958
camper1960
pickup camper1960
motor home1961
caravan1962
cab-over1964
RV1967
manufactured home1976
micro-mini1989
1833 Hazard's Reg. Pennsylvania 2 Nov. 286/1 These house-wagons are covered with canvass, and are drawn, many of them by five stout horses, but the greater part of them by six or eight.
1886 Pall Mall Gaz. 12 Oct. 4/1 The highways are blocked for miles with ‘house-waggons’.
1904 Country Life in Amer. July 258/1 The second way of summering sheep..is to put two men with four or five thousand sheep, the men living in a house-wagon, where they sleep and eat.
1943 Billboard 12 June 35/2 I saw one of these traction engines going down the street with two large ride wagons and a house wagon [for a travelling carnival].
† house waiting maid n. Obsolete rare a female servant who combines the role of housemaid with that of waiting-maid (see waiting-maid n.).Cf. house chambermaid n., house parlourmaid n.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > domestic servant > [noun] > maid or housemaid > housemaid with other duties
house chambermaid1861
house waiting maid1863
house tablemaid1874
house parlourmaid1878
1863 Novelette No. 102 45/3 Fiddy, Blanche's house waiting-maid, made her appearance to fetch her mistress's breakfast.
1928 Times 8 Mar. 3/6 (advt.) House waiting maid wanted, March 31st.
houseware n. now chiefly North American (as a mass noun or in plural) household articles collectively, esp. kitchen utensils.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > [noun] > of a house
attirec1325
harness1340
gearc1380
household1420
stuff1438
household stuff1445
standard?1474
utensil1484
inspreith1488
utensilies1496
household goods1501
insight1522
wardrobe stuff?a1527
housewifery1552
plenishing1561
householdry1570
supellectile1584
household effects1762
sticks of furniture1777
house furnishing1827
houseware1827
ingear1835
supellex1849
household appliance1853
homeware1868
home1887
décor1926
1827 T. Carlyle tr. J. P. F. Richter in German Romance III. 87 I..wished that..I had given up the stupid houseware to all thieves and fires.
1859 W. Barnes Views Labour & Gold 141 House-wares, that are now in shops of every town and village, were borne on strings of packhorses from fair to fair.
1921 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 1 Apr. 7/1 (advt.) Extra values in reliable house wares today and Saturday.
1971 Sunday Express (Johannesburg) 28 Mar. (Home Jrnl.) 9/3 (advt.) Housewares..Grapefruit knife..Bathroom Scales.
1990 Essentials Sept. 4/2 Pack your kids off to a new term with a..lunchkit from Thermos... The lunchkits cost £4.99 from department and houseware stores.
2005 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 20 Nov. v. 10/1 Shops like Colette, in Paris, where a selective collection of high-end housewares, clothing, CD's and art books are displayed side by side.
housewood n. now historical wood taken, or that may be taken, from a landlord's estate for the upkeep of a tenant's house; cf. housebote n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > [noun] > building wood > for repair of house
housebotelOE
housewood1602
1602 W. Fulbecke Parallele or Conf. Law ii. 52 The termor hath house~wood..fire-woode belonging to his tearme of common right.
1625 Indenture 20 Oct. in Local Notes & Gleanings: Oldham (1888) 2 164 To get sufficient hedge boote house wood & tinsel on s[ai]d premeses for repaireing the hedges & fences thereof.
1993 M. N. Williams & A. Echols Between Pit & Pedestal (1994) xii. 178 Fishing his [sc. the lord's] stream,..collecting firewood or housewood (estover),..and grinding flour at his mill were other privileges obtained by paying small fees.
housework n. regular work done in housekeeping, now esp. cleaning and tidying; domestic work.In quot. 1613: a type of work consisting of this; a domestic vocation or sphere.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > work > [noun] > housework
housework1787
rough worka1852
housemaiding1858
rough1933
1613 B. Rich Excellency Good Women 23 Solomon pointed her a house-worke it should seeme, shee must not be a gadder about the streetes but a Home huswife.
1787 World & Fashionable Advertiser 17 Mar. Wanted in a large Family, a Servant who can undertake getting up the Small Linen, and has no objection to some House Work.
1841 A. Bache Fire-screen 119 Mrs. Gibbs, a woman who sometimes came to assist in doing house-work, had followed Mrs. Brown into the parlour.
1872 Rep. Indian Affairs 1871 (U.S.) 378 While the boys are engaged in out-door work, the girls could be employed in sewing or house-work.
1930 D. H. Lawrence Assorted Articles 29 No woman does her housework with real joy unless she is in love.
2008 J. Burchill in J. Burchill & C. Newkey-Burden Not in my Name 135 Proletarian men are the only group who do considerably more childcare and housework than they did twenty years ago.
houseworker n. a person who performs housework, esp. as a job.
ΚΠ
1840 Documents Senate State N.Y. 1840 IV. No. 120 134 Occupations of persons convicted in courts of record... Hostler 1; house-worker 1; inn-keepers 3 [etc.].
1845 N.Y. Daily Tribune 6 Nov. 2/5 Good Chambermaids and General Houseworkers get from $5 to $6.
1948 Kiplinger Mag. Apr. 9/1 After her husband and children leave for the day, the houseworker is alone with the less than scintillating companionship of her refrigerator.
2007 D. D. Troutt Importance of being Dangerous xii. 116 He had a full-time maid, a couple of house workers who came in on Tuesdays and Thursdays, a cook for three hours every evening.
† house-wough n. [ < house n.1 + wough n.1] Obsolete a wall or partition in a house.
ΚΠ
c1400 Femina (Trin. Cambr.) (1909) 71 Meissiere fait le meason sure..hous woghes makyn hous sure.
house wrap n. (a) a shawl or loose robe worn in the house (cf. housecoat n.) (now rare); (b) Building any of various synthetic materials used in wall construction to provide a moisture-resistant barrier between the sheathing and the exterior layer.
ΚΠ
1860 Godey's Lady's Bk. Nov. 475/2 A most comfortable house wrap for older people, and suitable for the street when worn by little girls.
1942 Times 13 Oct. 6/7 (advt.) Delightfully warm and cosy house wraps for the Autumn and Winter.
1982 Chicago Tribune 6 Nov. 12/2 (advt.) Housewrap acts like a windbreaker over a sweater, sealing off those cracks and small openings.
2008 K. O'Brien & K. Smith Northwest Green Home Primer ix. 201/1 Either house wrap or felt will provide an adequate secondary drainage plane.
house wrecker n. a person who demolishes houses or other buildings; = housebreaker n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > [noun] > demolition > one who demolishes or ruins
demolisher1615
dilapidator1812
house wrecker1849
housebreaker1870
wrecking company1940
wrecker1958
1849 Freeman's Jrnl. (Dublin) 26 June Those house-wreckers..[who]..hit off at once the centre of gravity of the poor man's dwelling..and down comes the devoted tenement.
1897 Daily News 16 Mar. 6/5 If there are many odd trades there are also some very disagreeable ones. None more so, I should fancy, than that of the housewrecker.
1903 Westm. Gaz. 7 Sept. 8/2 The hand of the housewrecker.
2006 N.Z. Herald (Nexis) 21 Sept. The council heritage architect who approved the demolition of 29 Marine Parade on the word of a house wrecker that it was built after 1950.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

† housen.2

Forms: Middle English howfe (transmission error), Middle English hownsys (plural, transmission error), Middle English 1700s house, 1500s–1600s houze, 1600s hoose, 1600s houche, 1600s housse, 1700s houss; Scottish pre-1700 houis, pre-1700 houiss, pre-1700 hous, pre-1700 huise, pre-1700 huiss, pre-1700 huse, 1700s huis.
Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymons: French huce, houce.
Etymology: < Anglo-Norman huce, house, huse, husse, houshe, houze, etc., Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French houce, Old French (Picardy), Middle French (northern) houche, Middle French housse (French housse ) long-sleeved mantle (c1200), shield cover (1210), (now archaic or historical) saddle covering (first quarter of the 13th cent.), probably < the Germanic base of Old High German hulft saddle covering (Middle High German hulft saddle covering, blanket, German (with secondary suffixation) Hulfter , (now usually) Halfter pistol sheath, holster: see holster n.), Middle Low German hulfte , holfte quiver, probably < an ablaut variant of the Germanic base of heel v.1 + a suffix forming nouns, although the medial -f- is difficult to account for (it may be an excrescent consonant, though this normally developed only after labials). Compare post-classical Latin hulcia (frequently in 10th- or 11th-cent. Latin–Old High German glosses, glossed by Old High German hulft ; subsequently from 12th cent. in British, from 13th cent. in other continental sources), hucia (frequently from 12th cent. in British, from 13th cent. in continental sources; also as houcia , housia , huscia , hussia ), and also (with added suffix) hulcitum (in 9th- or 10th-cent. Latin–Old High German glosses, glossed by Old High German hulft ). Compare Old Occitan osso (1502). Compare slightly earlier housing n.2It has sometimes been suggested that the French word may be a loan < an Arabic noun in sense ‘covering, veil, wrap’, ultimately < Arabic ġašiya to cover, wrap, veil, conceal. However, this is unlikely on account of the geographical distribution of the word in the Romance languages, as the Romance noun is unattested in both Spanish and Catalan. In early use frequently occurring as a vernacular word in Latin contexts; it is uncertain whether such instances (before the mid 15th cent.) are to be taken as showing the Middle English or the Anglo-Norman word. Compare e.g.:?1333–4 in J. T. Fowler Extracts Acct. Rolls Abbey of Durham (1899) II. 522 In panno..empt. pro houzes equorum..pro 1 houze ad palefr. missam domino Regi.1391 in L. T. Smith Exped. Prussia & Holy Land Earl Derby (1894) 46 Pro j hous pro le baner.?c1400 in J. Raine Hist. Dunelmensis Scriptores Tres (1839) 64 Ex eo [panno] palefridis suis coopertoria quae huces nuncupatur fecit.1434 in J. Raine Inventories & Acct. Rolls Benedictine Houses Jarrow & Monk-Wearmouth (1854) 101 Et in..j novo houese pro sella monachili.
Obsolete.
A covering of textile material; (esp. and usually) a covering attached to a saddle, so as to cover the back and flanks of the horse; a housing (housing n.2 2).Housing is now the usual term.In quot. ?c1500 in extended use: the foreskin.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [noun] > trappings, housing, or caparison
steed shrouda1300
coverturec1300
trap13..
horse-house1316
attiringa1375
trapping1398
trappera1400
saddlecloth1415
house1463
foot-cloth1480
summock1506
reparelling1513
base1548
furniture1553
coperture1555
housing-cloth1569
caparison1602
footmantlec1610
bear gear1613
horse-furniture1613
bearing gear1616
housing1698
pad-cloth1795
rumbler1849
1463 in Manners & Househ. Expenses Eng. (1841) 228 (MED) For ix yerdys of whyte ffrese, ffor hownsys [read howusys] for my masterys hors, v s. iij d.
?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 65v A howfe [read howse] of a horse, fandalum, fudaria [read sandalum, sudaria].
?c1500 Bk. Marchalsi (Douce) f. 136 (MED) The hors of gode entaile schall have..the house of the pyntell wele forward, the ballokys wele hangynge.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 221 With ane new hous I wald be happit.
1601 F. Tate Househ. Ord. Edward II (1876) §56. 40 He shal..carri the houche of those horses the kinge shalbe mounted on.
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1645 (1955) II. 426 The drawing Cattel..are cover'd with housses of linnen freing'd at the bottome, that dangle about them, & preserve them from the flyes.
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 86 A stately Horse, covered with a Housse all Embroidered with Gold.
1700 J. Dryden tr. Ovid Twelfth Bk. Metamorphoses in Fables 440 The Houss and Trappings of a Beast.
1756 R. Rolt New Dict. Trade Housing or House, a Cover laid over the Saddle of a horse, in order to save it from the weather and dirt.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2021).

housen.3

Brit. /haʊs/, U.S. /haʊs/
Forms: also with capital initial.
Origin: Probably from a proper name. Etymon: proper name The Warehouse.
Etymology: Probably < the name of The Warehouse, a nightclub in Chicago where this music was first popularized c1985.
Originally U.S.
A type of electronic dance music, influenced by funk and disco and typically featuring the use of drum machines, sequencers, sampled sound effects, and prominent synthesized bass lines, in combination with sparse, repetitive vocals and a fast beat. Cf. acid house n.Its marked popularity in the United Kingdom during the late 1980s and early 1990s led to the swift proliferation of associated styles:
1989 Melody Maker 14 Oct. 48/1 In the aftermath of the first waves of Acid and Balaeric, clubbers have been offered, in no chronological order, dance music under the names of..Acid jazz, ska House and hip House... There's been the Garage and Techno sounds of New York and Detroit respectively, Belgian New Beat,..and, most recently, Dutch and Italian House. It's enough to confuse even the most dedicated clubber.
.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > pop music > [noun] > other pop music
a cappella1905
soundclash1925
marabi1933
doo-wop1958
filk1959
folk-rock1963
Liverpool sound1963
Mersey beat1963
Mersey sound1963
surf music1963
malombo1964
mbaqanga1964
easy listening1965
disco music1966
Motown1966
boogaloo1967
power pop1967
psychedelia1967
yé-yé1967
agitpop1968
bubblegum1968
Tamla Motown1968
Tex-Mex1968
downtempo1969
taarab1969
thrash1969
world music1969
funk1970
MOR1970
tropicalism1970
Afrobeat1971
electro-pop1971
post-rock1971
techno-pop1971
Tropicalia1971
tropicalismo1971
disco1972
Krautrock1972
schlager1973
Afropop1974
punk funk1974
disco funk1975
Europop1976
mgqashiyo1976
P-funk1976
funkadelia1977
karaoke music1977
alternative music1978
hardcore1978
psychobilly1978
punkabilly1978
R&B1978
cowpunk1979
dangdut1979
hip-hop1979
Northern Soul1979
rap1979
rapping1979
jit1980
trance1980
benga1981
New Romanticism1981
post-punk1981
rap music1981
scratch1982
scratch-music1982
synth-pop1982
electro1983
garage1983
Latin1983
Philly1983
New Age1984
New Age music1985
ambient1986
Britpop1986
gangster rap1986
house1986
house music1986
mbalax1986
rai1986
trot1986
zouk1986
bhangra1987
garage1987
hip-house1987
new school1987
old school1987
thrashcore1987
acid1988
acid house1988
acid jazz1988
ambience1988
Cantopop1988
dance1988
deep house1988
industrial1988
swingbeat1988
techno1988
dream pop1989
gangsta rap1989
multiculti1989
new jack swing1989
noise-pop1989
rave1989
Tejano1989
breakbeat1990
chill-out music1990
indie1990
new jack1990
new jill swing1990
noisecore1990
baggy1991
drum and bass1991
gangsta1991
handbag house1991
hip-pop1991
loungecore1991
psychedelic trance1991
shoegazing1991
slowcore1991
techno-house1991
gabba1992
jungle1992
sadcore1992
UK garage1992
darkcore1993
dark side1993
electronica1993
G-funk1993
sampladelia1994
trip hop1994
break1996
psy-trance1996
nu skool1997
folktronica1999
dubstep2002
Bongo Flava2003
grime2003
Bongo2004
singeli2015
1986 House Sound of Chicago (record sleeve notes) House is the mystifying music they call the key... House is meta-music, always referring outwards to other sounds, past and present.
1989 Chicago Tribune 11 Oct. v. 2/1 The city's black artists..created a street-smart dance music known as ‘house’ at warehouse parties on the South and West Sides, but had to ship their singles to New York and London to turn a profit.
1990 Egg Aug. 87/2 You can dance to deafening house in the adjoining 7th Street Entry's ‘House Nation under a Groove’ party.
1999 D. Haslam Manchester, Eng. vi. 141 When Detroit and Chicago started flinging out the first sounds of house and techno, Manchester tuned in, greedily importing it all.
2005 Guardian 10 Dec. (Guide Suppl.) Central Listings 16/4 Launch of a new residency, with Timo playing a firing mix of electro, techno and house.

Compounds

C1. General attributive.
ΚΠ
1986 House Sound of Chicago (record sleeve notes) Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley's ‘Jack Your Body’, the local term for frantic dancing that you can hear woven into countless House tracks.
1988 Smash Hits 19 Oct. 81/4 One's a cover version of a ‘house’ tune.
1991 Health & Fitness Jan. 48/3 At night the gym is the site of one of London's trendiest house clubs.
1996 Raygun Nov. 24 Investing in a pair of Technics turntables, a load of musical gear, and every up-to-the-minute house record on the market, he was suddenly a certified goner.
2003 Scene Mag. (Brisbane) 11 Feb. 26/2 Bored shitless with the new-for-old rock phenomenon and fed up with regurgitated house remixes.
2006 Time Out N.Y. 26 Oct. 92/1 Beside's Junior's bang-bang house beats, the night also features a $1,000 prize for best costume.
C2.
house music n. = main sense.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > pop music > [noun] > other pop music
a cappella1905
soundclash1925
marabi1933
doo-wop1958
filk1959
folk-rock1963
Liverpool sound1963
Mersey beat1963
Mersey sound1963
surf music1963
malombo1964
mbaqanga1964
easy listening1965
disco music1966
Motown1966
boogaloo1967
power pop1967
psychedelia1967
yé-yé1967
agitpop1968
bubblegum1968
Tamla Motown1968
Tex-Mex1968
downtempo1969
taarab1969
thrash1969
world music1969
funk1970
MOR1970
tropicalism1970
Afrobeat1971
electro-pop1971
post-rock1971
techno-pop1971
Tropicalia1971
tropicalismo1971
disco1972
Krautrock1972
schlager1973
Afropop1974
punk funk1974
disco funk1975
Europop1976
mgqashiyo1976
P-funk1976
funkadelia1977
karaoke music1977
alternative music1978
hardcore1978
psychobilly1978
punkabilly1978
R&B1978
cowpunk1979
dangdut1979
hip-hop1979
Northern Soul1979
rap1979
rapping1979
jit1980
trance1980
benga1981
New Romanticism1981
post-punk1981
rap music1981
scratch1982
scratch-music1982
synth-pop1982
electro1983
garage1983
Latin1983
Philly1983
New Age1984
New Age music1985
ambient1986
Britpop1986
gangster rap1986
house1986
house music1986
mbalax1986
rai1986
trot1986
zouk1986
bhangra1987
garage1987
hip-house1987
new school1987
old school1987
thrashcore1987
acid1988
acid house1988
acid jazz1988
ambience1988
Cantopop1988
dance1988
deep house1988
industrial1988
swingbeat1988
techno1988
dream pop1989
gangsta rap1989
multiculti1989
new jack swing1989
noise-pop1989
rave1989
Tejano1989
breakbeat1990
chill-out music1990
indie1990
new jack1990
new jill swing1990
noisecore1990
baggy1991
drum and bass1991
gangsta1991
handbag house1991
hip-pop1991
loungecore1991
psychedelic trance1991
shoegazing1991
slowcore1991
techno-house1991
gabba1992
jungle1992
sadcore1992
UK garage1992
darkcore1993
dark side1993
electronica1993
G-funk1993
sampladelia1994
trip hop1994
break1996
psy-trance1996
nu skool1997
folktronica1999
dubstep2002
Bongo Flava2003
grime2003
Bongo2004
singeli2015
1986 Billboard 31 May 23/1 A synthesizer-based dance music with a raw, funky feel, called ‘house music,’ is being produced in the Windy City.
1991 Face Feb. 89/1 When house music came, the doors were thrown open, and we felt we could do whatever we wanted.
2010 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 13 June (Arts & Leisure section) 19/4 The sometimes whimsical style called U.K. funky, which is an answer to dubstep, returning British dance culture closer to the house music that birthed it.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

housev.1

Brit. /haʊz/, U.S. /haʊz/
Forms: Old English husian, Middle English huse, Middle English–1600s howse, Middle English– house; English regional 1800s heawse, 1800s– haase (Yorkshire), 1800s– heause (Lancashire), 1800s– hoose (northern), 1900s– owze (Devon); Scottish pre-1700 hous, pre-1700 houss, pre-1700 hows, pre-1700 1700s– house, 1900s– hoose, 1900s– hooze.
Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate with or formed similarly to Old Frisian hūsia , Middle Dutch hūsen , huysen (Dutch huizen ), Middle Low German hūsen , Old High German hūsōn (Middle High German hūsen , German hausen ), Old Icelandic húsa , Old Swedish, Swedish husa , Old Danish husæ (Danish huse ), in senses corresponding broadly to senses 1, 2, and 3a < the same Germanic base as house n.1In sense 2b translating classical Latin aedificāre edify v. With sense 7 compare earlier housling n. With to house in at Phrasal verbs compare slightly earlier homing n. 1.
I. To provide with, act as, or construct a house.
1. To take, receive, or put into a house.
a. transitive (frequently in passive). To provide (a person or animal) with a house; (also) to place, keep, or store (a thing) in a building. Also figurative. Now often with in.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > providing with dwelling > [verb (transitive)] > in house
houseOE
inhouse1595
enhouse1596
lodge1764
rehouse1817
roof1820
rehome1857
the mind > possession > supply > storage > store [verb (transitive)] > in specific place
house1439
garner1474
loft1518
cellar1550
pantry1637
warehouse1799
yard1878
dump1956
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > animal keeping practices general > herding, pasturing, or confining > [verb (transitive)] > drive or put into enclosure
parc1300
foldc1440
house1578
pinfold1605
pen1607
enfold?1611
impen?1623
to get in1698
weara1724
yard1758
to run in1837
corral1847
paddock1847
kraal1865
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [verb (transitive)] > store in greenhouse
house1626
OE Handbk. for Use of Confessor (Corpus Cambr. 201) in Anglia (1965) 83 29 Fede þearfan, and scride, husige and firige.
lOE tr. R. d'Escures Sermo in Festis Sancte Marie Virginis in R. D.-N. Warner Early Eng. Homilies (1917) 137 Swa swa leofne gyst heo hine [sc. Christ] husede & innlice herebyregode.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vi. l. 498 (MED) Whan that thei were alle housed And set and served ate mete.
1432 in Rec. Parl. Scotl. to 1707 (2007) 1432/3/3 The sheref..sal..forbide at ony man houss, herbery or resett hym.
1439 in Collectanea Topographica & Genealogica (1838) V. 17 (MED) She shal hav..all þe cornis in my berne..with all myn hey now housid to here propre vse and profyt.
1578 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husb. (rev. ed.) iii. f. 118v That if the Mare bee housed, there bee roome enough for her and her Fole.
c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme lxxviii. 163 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 111 A Shepheard wise to howse his flock doth haste.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §412 As wee House Hot-Countrey Plants..to saue them; So wee may House our owne Countrey Plants to forward them.
?1673 W. Temple Ess. Advancement Trade Irel. 23 The hardness of the Winters..forces the breeders there to house..their Colts for at least six months every year.
1768 G. White Let. 22 Jan. in Nat. Hist. Selborne (1789) 39 A neighbour housed an oat-rick lately.
1773 O. Goldsmith She stoops to Conquer v. 92 Where did you leave your fellow travellers? Are they in safety? Are they housed?
1832 H. Martineau Weal & Woe i. 3 There were nine children to be housed.
1883 ‘M. Twain’ Life on Mississippi App. a 603 The people cared first for their work stock,..horses and mules were housed in a place of safety.
1885 Manch. Examiner 21 May 5/1 The arrangements for housing the art collection of the Museum Committee at Queen's Park.
1903 Times 12 Sept. 6/6 It takes 2½ million pounds sterling per month to feed, clothe, and house the inhabitants along the Reef.
1962 A. Jobson Window in Suffolk i. 28 The brewing tackle would be housed in a large shed or outhouse set apart for that purpose.
2008 J. Quinn Goodnight Ballivor iii. 27 Two milking cows and a couple of calves were housed in one building.
b. transitive (reflexive). To enter a house; to take refuge or shelter in a place.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabiting a type of place > inhabit type of place [verb (reflexive)] > inhabit house
housea1500
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > refuge or shelter > take refuge or shelter [verb (reflexive)] > in specific place
housea1500
inweeda1586
a1500 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Cambr.) l. 142 Ye shall yow howse And sone aftur þou shalt be hur spowse.
1590 R. Harvey Plaine Percevall Ded. sig. A3v House your selues in the next Tauerne.
1665 R. Head Eng. Rogue I. xii. 121 Resolving to house our selves in the next Bubbing-place we came to.
1685 Mr. Travestin Acct. Proc. against Turks 49 The rest of the Turks housing themselves.
1714 W. Derham Physico-theol. (ed. 2) iv. 234 Others house themselves in Sticks and Straws.
a1768 L. Sterne in European Mag. & London Rev. (1792) Mar. 215/1 You will calmly submit to its rigours, and house yourself afterwards in some humble shed.
1848 J. Grant Adventures Aide-de-camp xxxiv. 179 Each person housed himself where he could.
1869 Jrnl. Househ. Brigade 101 She [sc. a deer] got away over Taplow Common..and up to Penn, where she housed herself.
1991 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 31 Mar. xii. 16 After the Revolutionary War, Sarah is believed to have housed herself for 20 years in a rock shelter.
c. transitive. In extended use. To enclose in a house-like place or space; to harbour, lodge; (also) to cover as though with a roof.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being internal > containing or having within > contain or have within [verb (transitive)]
holdc1000
takec1175
keep1340
harbour1362
containa1382
comprehend1393
comprise1483
carry1517
house1542
refrain1542
to fetch in1565
enharbour1596
inhold1614
reserve1614
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes i. f. 145v The mynde or solle of manne is couered, &..housed..within the tabernacle..of the bodye.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry ii. f. 64v Some vse to house it with strawe and horse doung, and so leaue it in the Garden.
1600 B. Jonson Every Man out of his Humor iii. i. sig. Iiv Nay good sir house your head. View more context for this quotation
1644 J. Milton Doctr. Divorce (ed. 2) To Parl. sig. A4v The piety, the learning and the prudence which is hous'd in this place.
1794 T. Holcroft Adventures Hugh Trevor I. xvi. 234 You will be..bound and pitched and carted and housed in hell.
1823 I. D'Israeli Curiosities of Lit. 2nd Ser. III. 45 Some collector..houses the forlorn fiction—and it enters into literary history!
1841 R. W. Emerson Method Nature in Wks. (1906) II. 226 The universal does not attract us until housed in an individual.
1919 C. G. Conn For Good of World 19 Thought is safely housed in the brain organ, where it may only be awakened by cellular activity.
2000 C. Bohjalian Trans-sister Radio (2001) xix. 170 That birch bark-like skin that once housed the testes.
†d. transitive. To drive or pursue into a house. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > order of movement > following behind > follow [verb (transitive)] > pursue > pursue into specific place
house1592
tree1699
1592 W. Warner Albions Eng. (rev. ed.) viii. xlii. 182 Once hunted he, vntill the Chace..and the heate Did house him in a peakish Graunge within a Forrest great.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) v. i. 189 Euen now we hous'd him in the Abbey heere. View more context for this quotation
1694 W. Penn Acct. Travails Holland & Germany 249 The Priest run away, they followed him till they housed him.
1701 J. Strype Hist. Coll. John Aylmer ix. 150 Yet, said the Bishop, as he understood, his single Man Housed them all.
e. transitive. To shelter, contain, or accommodate as a house; to be a house for. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > refuge or shelter > seek (refuge) [verb (transitive)] > shelter > shelter as in a house
shroudc1450
hivec1595
house1610
roof1820
society > inhabiting and dwelling > providing with dwelling > [verb (transitive)] > afford accommodation to (of place)
lodgec1449
receive1552
booth1594
house1759
hive1812
roost1838
1610 G. Fletcher Christs Victorie 30 Him the silent wildernesse did house, The heau'n his roofe,..The ground his bed.
a1652 J. Smith Select Disc. (1660) i. i. 8 When we have broke through the outward Shell of words & phrases that house it [sc. truth] up.
1759 C. Hervey Let. 26 July in Lett. from Portugal, Spain, Italy & Germany (1785) I. 325 The next morning we abandoned a miserable inn that had housed us for the night.
1783 J. Hoole tr. L. Ariosto Orlando Furioso III. xxiii. 120 When the place No knight has hous'd.
1832 Ld. Tennyson Œnone in Poems (new ed.) 53 O Caves That house the cold crowned snake!
1877 T. A. Trollope Peep behind Scenes xi. 140 The building was capable of comfortably housing a very much larger number.
1989 San Francisco Focus Oct. 66/2 The British Museum houses what may be the largest collection of booty in the civilized world.
2008 Church Times 19 Dec. 45/2 A neat little thatched stable, housing the ox and ass.
†2.
a. intransitive. To erect a house or houses; to build. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > build [verb (intransitive)] > build houses
housec1325
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 492 Hii housede & bulde vaste & herede & sewe.
c1450 tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Lyfe Manhode (Cambr.) (1869) 30 The carpentere with his ax to howse and to hewe.
1496 (c1410) Dives & Pauper (de Worde) x. viii. 383/1 Thou shalt house & other shall dwelle therin.
b. transitive. To build. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > build or construct [verb (transitive)]
timbera900
workOE
betimberOE
craftOE
buildc1275
lifta1300
stagec1330
upraise1338
wright1338
edifya1340
to make outa1382
to make upa1382
biga1400
housea1400
risea1400
telda1400–50
to work upa1450
redress1481
levy1495
upmake1507
upbuild1513
exstruct?c1550
construct1663
to run up1686
practise1739
to lay up1788
elevate1798
to put up1818
to lay down1851
practicate1851
a1400 Prymer (St. John's Cambr.) (1891) 35 Iherusalem that is housed [L. aedificatur] as a cite whas delynge is in him self.
3.
a. intransitive. To live in, or as though in, a house; to reside; (with up) to take shelter, remain in a house, esp. for some time. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabiting a type of place > inhabit type of place [verb (intransitive)] > inhabit house
to hold or keep householdc1425
housec1440
to keep house1523
to take up housec1600
c1440 (?a1400) Morte Arthure l. 4284 (MED) I may helples one hethe house be myn one.
1591 E. Spenser Prosopopoia in Complaints 828 He would it drive away, Ne suffer it to house there.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 63 Observe the starry Signs, Where Saturn houses, and where Hermes joins. View more context for this quotation
1729 Z. Pearce Miracles of Jesus Vindicated: Pt. 2 vi. 31 St. Matthew's Word..may as well be render'd he sojourn'd or housed there, as he dwelt there.
1828 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 24 442 Surely the Devil houses here!
1873 J. H. Beadle Undeveloped West i. 40 We can house up, you know, and keep warm on the prairie in winter, but we can't house up and keep cool in the timber in the summer.
1880 W. Watson Prince's Quest 32 If..unbelief House in thy heart.
1906 A. S. Gilchrist Katherine Somerville ii. 35 He [sc. a terrapin] is under the board shelter by the palings... He housed up there all winter close to the cabbages.
1990 M. F. Golbert tr. M. Domarus Hitler I. 354 They housed in tents, stood for hours on end, and marched in endless processions.
b. transitive. With with. To live with, or in the same house as; also figurative.
ΚΠ
1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet iii. v. 188 Graze where you will, you shall not house with me. View more context for this quotation
1616 T. Scott Christs Politician 31 It is not saftetie for the lambe to dwell with the Fox, nor for the doue to house with the hauke.
1787 H. Lewis Excursion to Margate 29 She had housed with his mother.
1792 C. H. Wilson Wandering Islander II. xi. 125 To house with death and darkness was nothing in comparison to the pangs I felt on Mary's account.
1798 S. Lee Young Lady's Tale in H. Lee Canterbury Tales II. 332 I again housed with my peasants.
1996 A. Waldman Beat Bk. 333 He entered Reed College, where he housed with Lew Welch and Philip Whalen.
II. In specialist and technical use.
†4. intransitive. Bricklaying. Of a brick or tile: to become curved or warped during firing. Cf. to house in at Phrasal verbs. Obsolete. rare.
ΚΠ
1703 R. Neve City & Countrey Purchaser 182 When a Tile, or Brick is warped, or cast crooked or hollow in burning, they then say such a Brick, or Tile is Housing; they are apt to be housing..on the struck side.
5. Nautical.
a. transitive. To place in a secure or unexposed position; as, to secure (a gun) on deck with lashing and breeching, to lower and fasten (a mast), etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > other nautical operations > [verb (transitive)] > put in proper place or make secure
ship17..
house1741
to batten down1823
snug1881
snug1898
1741 London Mag. Feb. 100/1 On her approaching nearer we perceiv'd their small Arms on Deck, but she kept her great Guns housed.
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine Transl. French Terms Canon à la serre, a gun housed athwart, with the top of its muzzle bearing against the upper edge of the port.
1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xv. 41 A large ship, with her top-gallant-masts housed.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 393 To house a topgallant-mast, is to lower it so as to prevent the rigging resting or chafing on the cap, and securing its heel to the mast below it.
1874 S. J. P. Thearle Naval Archit. (new ed.) I. 77 Provision is made for housing the screw shaft by giving a swell to the post, as in a wood ship.
1917 W. H. G. Bullard Naval Electrician's Text Bk. (ed. 4) II. 211 The control will permit the small accurate movements required to house the anchor.
1990 E. H. Daniels Eagle Seamanship (ed. 3) viii. 175 With a trained crew and good weather, both masts can be housed or stepped in under five hours.
2005 I. Dear & P. Kemp Oxf. Compan. Ships & Sea (ed. 2) at House Guns of the old sailing men-of-war were housed when not in use by running them in from the gunports and securing them with tackles.
b. transitive. To cover (a vessel or part of it) for protection, insulation, etc., esp. when laid up in bad weather or when wintering on ice. Also with in, over. Now chiefly historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > shipbuilding and repairing > build a ship [verb (transitive)] > protect with roof
house1819
1819 A. Fisher Jrnl. 2 Nov. in Jrnl. Voy. Arctic Regions 1819–20 (1821) 151 As the ships are now housed and secured, and the days getting so short.
1835 Family Mag. 2 174 The ship is housed in, or, in other words, covered over with a roof of canvass.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 393 Ships in ordinary, not in commission, are housed over by a substantial roofing.
1901 E. Coffin Jrnl 27 Sept. in National Mag. (1909) 31 672/1 Uncomfortably warm with the ship housed in. Had to cut a large hole on each side through the canvas for ventilation.
2007 W. Barr Arctic Hell-ship vii. 114 Since there would be little daylight thereafter, the quarter deck was also housed in on the 22nd [of November].
6. transitive. Building, Joinery, etc. To fix in a recess, socket, mortise, or the like. Frequently with into. Cf. housing n.1 5.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > constructing or working with wood > build or construct with wood [verb (transitive)] > fix in socket or mortice
house1831
raggle1833
1831 P. Nicholson Mechanic's Compan. 165 Sometimes the ends next to the wall are housed into a notch board.
1884 F. T. Hodgson Stair-building 12 Wall strings are the supporters of the ends of the treads and risers that are against the wall. They may be ‘housed’ or left solid.
1909 F. T. Hodgson Light & Heavy Timber Framing 268 The ties between the bolts are housed into and spiked to a horizontal timber.
1999 G. Mitchell Carpentry & Joinery (ed. 3) xiii. 168 It will be noted that the drawer back can be housed into the sides provided it is glued and pinned.
7. transitive. Agriculture. In past participle: (of plants, esp. hops) to have grown so densely and compactly as to form a ‘house’. Cf. housling n., housey adj.1 regional (now rare).
ΚΠ
1840 W. Holloway Gen. Dict. Provincialisms 86/1 When hops have a great deal of bine so that the poles are thickly covered over the top, precluding in a great measure the air and sun, they are said to be ‘Housed’.
1902 Eng. Dial. Dict. III. 251/1 Housed... Of corn, hops, &c.: to grow thick and compact.

Phrasal verbs

† to house in Obsolete Nautical (a) intransitive (of a ship) to curve or slope inwards above the broadest part and towards the decks (opposed to flare); (b) transitive (in passive) to be constructed so that the upper works are narrower than the lower parts. See also housing in at housing n.1 4a. Obsolete.Cf. homing n. 1, flare v. 4a, tumble v. 11.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessel of specific construction or shape > be of specific construction or shape [verb (intransitive)] > have upper works narrower or wider than lower
to house in1627
flare1644
tumblea1687
1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. xi. 52 Flaring, which is when she is a little howsing in, neere the water, and then the vpper worke doth hang ouer againe.
1685 N. Boteler Six Dialogues Sea-services iv. 132 What do you mean, when you say, a Ship is Housed in?
1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I. at Housed She is Housed-in, or Pinched-in too much.
1711 W. Sutherland Ship-builders Assistant 165 Tumbling home; when the Ship-side declines from a Perpendicular upwards, or, as some call it, houses in.
1759 News-readers Pocket-bk. 83 When the breadth of a ship's bearing in brought in too narrow to her upper Works, or pinched in too much, she is Housed in.
1809 Brit. Encycl. III. at Flair When a ship is housed in near the water, so that the work above hangs over too much, it is said to flair over.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

housev.2

Brit. /haʊz/, U.S. /haʊz/
Forms: 1500s hows (Scottish), 1500s–1600s 1800s– house, 1600s houss.
Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: house n.2
Etymology: < house n.2 Compare Middle French, French housser (13th cent. in Old French as houchier ). In later use perhaps sometimes associated with house v.1 Compare earlier housing n.2
Now rare (archaic and historical in later use).
transitive. To cover (a horse, etc.) with a house (house n.2) or housing (housing n.2).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [verb (transitive)] > trap or caparison
wry1297
trap13..
house?a1513
caparison1597
entrap1654
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 221 Tak in this gray hors, auld Dumbar,..Gar hows him new aganis this Ȝuill.
1566 T. Blundeville Order dietynge of Horses xv. f. 16, in Fower Offices Horsemanshippe Horses..would be housed in somer season with canuas, to defende the flyes, and in wynter with a thicke wollen housyng clothe, to kepe them warme.
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1658 (1955) III. 224 A velvet bed of state drawn by six horses houss'd with the same.
1826 C. S. M. Bury Alla Giornata I. 327 She was mounted on a car drawn by eight black steeds, housed in embroidered trappings.
1844 E. B. Barrett Romance of Swan's Nest in Poems II. 256 And the steed, it shall be shod All in silver, housed in azure.
1884 E. Lamplough Mediaæval Yorks. 64 He was..mounted upon a superb white steed, housed with green and blue velvet.
1908 J. H. Ramsay Dawn of Constit. xviii. 305 The Milanese pressed on him offerings of choice steeds, housed in scarlet.
a1968 J. Steinbeck Acts King Arthur (1976) 191 Ewain..unseated thirty knights and won the prize, a shimmering gyrfalcon and a white horse housed in yellow cloth.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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