jewel housen.
/ˈdʒuː(ə)l haʊs/, U.S. /ˈdʒu(ə)l ˌ(h)aʊs/ 1. A building, room, or vault in which jewels or other valuable objects are kept; a treasury. Frequently (now chiefly): spec. that part of the Tower of London in which the Crown Jewels are kept. Cf. jewel office n. at jewel n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > place for keeping money > treasury > [noun] > for jewels
jewel house1445
gemmery1656
jewel office1661
1445 in T. Rymer Fœdera (1710) XI. 77 (MED) An Ouche of Gold, Garnished with a greet Perle..taken of the Stuf of oure Jewelhows.
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Luke xxi. 1 Called Gazophylacium, that is to saie, the Iewelhouse or sextrie, or treasourie in the whiche the Iewels of the temple wer kept.
1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII iv. i. 113 The King ha's made him Master o' th' Iewell House . View more context for this quotation
1815 T. Thomson (title) Collection of Inventories and other Records of the Royal Wardrobe and Jewelhouse.
1920 V. A. Smith Oxf. Hist. India vi. v. 393 The enormous stores of the [Mughal] imperial jewel-house were increased by extensive purchases of rare gems.
2018 Independent on Sat. (S. Afr.) (Nexis) 10 Feb. 7 It [sc. the Koh-i-Noor] is on display at the Jewel House in the Tower of London.
2. figurative and in figurative contexts. Anything likened to a treasury; a store or collection of anything considered precious, beautiful, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > supply > storage > [noun] > place where anything is or may be stored > of valued things
treasuryc1384
jewel house1549
chequer1597
exchequer1619
chest1662
1549 M. Coverdale in M. Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. II. Sig. +.iiv The sacred Byble..: like as it is the fayrest floure of the garden & most precious perle of gods iewel house.
1594 H. Plat (title) Jewell house of art and nature.
1883 E. E. Barnard in W. Sheehan Immortal Fire within (1995) iv. 50 We are in the midst of millions on millions of suns—we are in the jewel house of the Maker, and..we adore the hand that scattered the jewels of heaven so lavishly in this one vast region.
2000 G. Rattray Country Garden 55 Our world has been transformed into a magical jewel-house by the low rays of the late-rising sun.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1445