hovel

[huhv-uh l, hov-]

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noun

a small, very humble dwelling house; a wretched hut.

any dirty, disorganized dwelling.

an open shed, as for sheltering cattle or tools.

verb (used with object), hov·eled, hov·el·ing or (especially British) hov·elled, hov·el·ling.

to shelter or lodge as in a hovel.

Origin of hovel

1375–1425; late Middle English hovell, of uncertain origin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for hovel

hut, shack, shanty, cottage, lean-to, shed, hutch, dump, stall, den, pigpen, hole, sty, cabin, burrow, rathole, rattrap, pigsty

Examples from the Web for hovel

Contemporary Examples of hovel

When we first meet Bob, Tomlinson treats us to a description of the hovel in which he lives.
Slaves In A Family's Past Haunt The Present
Michael Signer
August 28, 2014
"She works out of a hovel, it is a broken-down building, just a shack," she said.
A Rare Meeting with Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi
Liz Goodwin
March 12, 2011

Historical Examples of hovel

The hovel of a cutter of wood into lengths for burning, was the only house at that end; all else was wall.
A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens
He owned a piece of land beside the hovel of Hyacinthe Fouan.
A Zola Dictionary
J. G. Patterson
Yes, our love shall dwell in a palace of health, not in a hovel of disease.
The Book of Khalid
Ameen Rihani
Certainly there was nothing gay to look at in the four corners of the hovel.
L'Assommoir
Emile Zola
Pierre pictured the hovel in the old quarter, which had just been mentioned by Felicite.
The Fortune of the Rougons
Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for hovel

hovel

noun

a ramshackle dwelling place

an open shed for livestock, carts, etc

the conical building enclosing a kiln

verb -els, -elling or -elled or US -els, -eling or -eled

to shelter or be sheltered in a hovel

Word Origin for hovel

C15: of unknown 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

Word Origin and History for hovel

mid-14c., "roofed passage, vent for smoke," later "shed for animals" (mid-15c.), of unknown origin. Meaning "shed for human habitation; rude or miserable cabin" is from 1620s. It also sometimes meant "canopied niche for a statue or image" (mid-15c.).