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housing

1
[ hou-zing ]
/ ˈhaʊ zɪŋ /
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noun
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Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
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In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

Origin of housing

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; house + -ing1

Other definitions for housing (2 of 2)

housing2
[ hou-zing ]
/ ˈhaʊ zɪŋ /

noun
a covering of cloth for the back and flanks of a horse or other animal, for protection or ornament.
housings, the trappings on a horse.

Origin of housing

2
First recorded in 1690–1700; compare earlier house, Middle English hous(e), houc(e) in same sense, from Old French houce, from unrecorded Germanic hulfti- (compare Medieval Latin hultia ), akin to Middle Dutch hulfte “cover for bow and arrow,” Middle High German hulft “covering”; -ing1 added by association with house, housing1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use housing in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for housing (1 of 2)

housing1
/ (ˈhaʊzɪŋ) /

noun
  1. houses or dwellings collectively
  2. (as modifier)a housing problem
the act of providing with accommodation
a hole, recess, groove, or slot made in one wooden member to receive another
a part designed to shelter, cover, contain, or support a component, such as a bearing, or a mechanism, such as a pump or wheela bearing housing; a motor housing; a wheel housing
another word for houseline

British Dictionary definitions for housing (2 of 2)

housing2
/ (ˈhaʊzɪŋ) /

noun
(often plural) archaic another word for trappings (def. 2)

Word Origin for housing

C14: from Old French houce covering, of Germanic origin
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
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