warehouse

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈwɛə(ɹ)haʊs/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English warehous, a compound of ware, goods, and house;^[2][3] compare Dutch warenhuis and German Warenhaus.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A building for storing goods: 1349 in the OED, the mid-14th century in Etymonline.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

Figurative use is from 1610.^[4] A tradesman's back shop (1580) and a mason's or carpenter's workshop (1530) are obsolete senses,^[4] and the word was used from about 1730 as a more dignified word for a shop.^[4] The verb, to deposit in a warehouse, especially in a government or bonded warehouse until duties are paid, is from 1766 in MWU and 1799 in Etymonline.^[3][2] A large impersonal institution is American colloquial by 1970, and the verb in the sense to house people, such as the mentally ill, in poor institutions from 1972.^[2][5]

Timeline

• 1349 – a storehouse.^[4]
• 1610 – figurative use.^[4]
• 1766 – the verb.^[3]
• 1970 – an impersonal institution (US).^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A large building where goods are stored.
2. A large, usually wholesale shop.

Verb

1. To store goods in a warehouse, especially a bonded one.
2. To house people in large institutions with poor services.

Word family

• warehouser
• miniwarehouse
• warehouseman
• bonded warehouse

Related words

• ware
• wares
• house
• storehouse

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin