house English · revision 1841

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725 (Beowulf)|origins=gem-pro *hūsan}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /haʊs/ ''(noun)'', /ˈhaʊ.zɪz/ ''(plural)''; /haʊz/ ''(verb)''^(Roach et al. 2011)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|hous]], [[inh|ang|hūs|t=dwelling, shelter, house]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from [[gem-pro|*hūsan]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) Its cognates include [[nl|huis]], [[de|Haus]] and [[non|hús]]; in Gothic it is found only in [[got|𐌲𐌿𐌸𐌷𐌿𐍃|tr=gudhūs|t=temple, literally god-house]], the usual Gothic word for “house” being different.^(Etymonline)^(Weekley 1921)^(SOED 2002) Its further origin is unknown;^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) the OED and Merriam-Webster connect it with the root of [[hide]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) and Klein traces it to a root meaning “to cover, hide”.^(Klein 1966)^(Barnhart 1988) The verb is [[inh|enm|housen]], [[inh|ang|hūsian|t=to take into a house]], from the noun.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ A separate, rare ''house'', a cloth covering for a horse (see [[housing]]), is from [[fro|houce]], of Germanic origin.^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A dwelling, shelter, building used as a residence (Old English ''hūs'', about 725, in ''Beowulf'').^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Its Old English plural was ''hūs'', unchanged;^(OED 1989) ''huses'' appeared in the 12th century and ''houses'' from the 14th.^(OED 1989) The meaning “family, including ancestors and descendants, especially a noble one”, as in ''the House of York'', is from about 1000.^(Etymonline) A religious house, meaning both the building and the community, dates from the late 14th century, and the same double sense was later used of colleges (1530s).^(Etymonline) The astrological ''house'' is first attested in the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) From the 1540s the word was used of a legislative body, transferred from the building where it meets;^(Etymonline) the ''House of Lords'' (mid 16th century) preceded the ''House of Commons'' (early 17th century).^(Cresswell 2021)^(Barnhart 1988) A theatre audience has been called ''the house'' since the 1660s, whence ''to bring down the house'',^(Etymonline)^(Brewer 1898) and a place of business since the 1580s.^(Etymonline) ''House and home'' have been paired since about 1200, and ''on the house'', free, dates from 1889.^(Etymonline) In Maine, Vermont and other parts of New England the word is often pronounced like “haouse”.^(Hendrickson 2008) ''House music'' (1986) was probably named after the Warehouse, a Chicago nightclub.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English ''hūs'', in ''Beowulf''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1000 – a family or lineage, and the Old English verb ''hūsian''.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c. 1200 – ''house and home''.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 14th century – a religious house; an astrological house.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1508 – a brothel.^(GDoS)

+ * 1530s – a college.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1540s – a legislative assembly.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1660s – a theatre audience.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1794 – ''house arrest''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1889 – ''on the house''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1986 – ''house music''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A building in which people live, especially a family; a [[dwelling]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The people living in a house; a [[household]].^(AHD)^(NODE 1998)

+ # A building used for a particular purpose: ''a house of worship''; a shelter for animals or things.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A family line, especially a noble or royal one: ''the House of York''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)^(Brewer 1898)

+ # A business firm: ''a publishing house''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[legislature|alt=legislative]] assembly or its building: ''the House of Commons''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A theatre or its audience: ''a full house''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # A residence for students, members of a religious order or the like; a division of a school.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # ''(astrology)'' One of the twelve divisions of the heavens.^(MW Collegiate)^(Chambers 2008)

+ # [[house music|alt=House music]], a style of electronic dance music.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To provide with living quarters; to [[lodge]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To store or keep in a building; to contain or enclose: ''buildings that house offices''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To fit into a socket or mortise.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # To take shelter; to dwell.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[houseful]]

+ * [[houseless]]

+ * [[houselessness]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[husband]]

+ * [[hussy]]

+ * [[husk]]

+ * [[hide]]

+ * [[hustings]]

+ * [[home]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Random House notes that ''dwelling'' is now chiefly poetic or legal, ''residence'' formal and suggestive of size and elegance, and ''house'' the ordinary word for the building, while ''home'' carries the idea of family and affection.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}