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almshouse

[ahmz-hous]
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noun, plural alms·hous·es [ahmz-hou-ziz] /ˈɑmzˌhaʊ zɪz/. Chiefly British.
  1. a house endowed by private charity for the reception and support of the aged or infirm poor.
  2. (formerly) a poorhouse.
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Origin of almshouse

First recorded in 1350–1400, almshouse is from the Middle English word almes hous. See alms, house
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for almshouse

Historical Examples

  • He took his way across the fields, so as to reach the Almshouse before his father.

    Paul Prescott's Charge

    Horatio Alger

  • The almshouse could tell the story of a hundred women who married men to reform them.

    The Wedding Ring

    T. De Witt Talmage

  • On the one side is the palace, on the other are the almshouse and "silent poor."

  • She provides for us an almshouse in which we can take refuge when we are old and weary.

    The Green Carnation

    Robert Smythe Hichens

  • No, that's too grand a comparison; rather, Oxford is like an almshouse for clergymen's widows.

    Loss and Gain

    John Henry Newman

British Dictionary definitions for almshouse

almshouse

noun
  1. British history a privately supported house offering accommodation to the aged or needy
  2. mainly British another name for poorhouse
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for almshouse

n.

mid-15c., from alms + house (n.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper