housel
/ˈhaʊzəl/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.42 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "The Holy Houſel ought to be kept vvith great Diligence and not be permitted to be ſtale, but another be alvvays hallovved anevv for Sick Men in about a Seven-night, or Fortnight, ſo as that it may not be muſty at leaſt."
- "She said that he had a fair sweet death through God His goodness with mass-priest to be shriven, holy housel and sick men’s oil to his limbs."
- "So housel all our hackneys that they may feel Compunction in their feet, and tire at Highgate."
Etymology
From Middle English housel, from Old English hūsl (“housel, Eucharist, the Host, a sacrifice”), from Proto-Germanic *hunslą (“sacrifice”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwen- (“holy”). Cognate with Icelandic húsl (“housel”), Gothic 𐌷𐌿𐌽𐍃𐌻 (hunsl, “sacrifice, offering”), Proto-Slavic *svętъ (“holy, sacred”) (OED). The OED cites usage of the noun from the 10th to the 17th century. 19th century use is deliberately archaizing. The verb is attested from the 11th century, and in occasional usage persists into the 19th.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: housel, hūsl, *hunslą, *ḱwen-, houselen, hūslian