hustings

[huhs-tingz]

noun (used with a singular or plural verb)

(before 1872) the temporary platform on which candidates for the British Parliament stood when nominated and from which they addressed the electors.

any place from which political campaign speeches are made.

the political campaign trail.

Also called hustings court. a local court in certain parts of Virginia.

Nearby words

Origin of hustings

before 1050; Middle English, Old English < Old Danish hūs-thing house meeting. See house, thing²

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

Examples from the Web for hustings

Then, once she hit the hustings, sell those email addresses to the Clinton campaign and shut down.
Is Ready for Hillary Ready to Fold—or Work With Candidate Clinton?|David Freedlander|November 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Shaheen campaign pounced, spending part of the next day hitting the hustings in Sullivan County.
New Hampshire Says ‘No’ to Interloper Scott Brown|David Freedlander|November 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That might be a better image than that of a candidate repeating the same attack lines on the hustings.
Hurricane Sandy Upends the Presidential Campaign|Howard Kurtz|October 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The sooner Romney gets out there as a candidate on the hustings, the sooner the media scrutiny intensifies.
In Search of Romney|Howard Kurtz|April 7, 2011|DAILY BEAST

As the couple takes to the hustings, speculation is rife over the post-nup agreement.
Guatemala's Political Telenovela: First Couple Divorces|Mac Margolis|April 1, 2011|DAILY BEAST
I'd like to see you managing a field of navvies with that nice little voice of yours—ay, or a mob before the hustings, my boy.
Phoebe, Junior|Mrs [Margaret] Oliphant
The first notary public to qualify in the hustings court was John Metcalfe.
The History of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia|S. J. (Silvanus Jackson) Quinn
The remainder of the committee followed the carriage in procession and mounted the hustings when they reached them.
The Battle of The Press|Theophila Carlile Campbell
So Boone went out upon the hustings with none of the eager zest of his anticipations.
The Tempering|Charles Neville Buck
I think more behind the hustings, and on the right; they did not come back to me so much.
Three Accounts of Peterloo|Edward Stanley

British Dictionary definitions for hustings

hustings

noun (functioning as plural or singular)

British (before 1872) the platform on which candidates were nominated for Parliament and from which they addressed the electors

the proceedings at a parliamentary election

political campaigning

Word Origin for hustings

C11: from Old Norse hūsthing, from hūs house + thing assembly

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 hustings

hustings

Old English husting "meeting, court, tribunal," from Old Norse husðing "council," from hus "house" (see house (n.)) + ðing "assembly" (see thing); so called because it was a meeting of the men who formed the "household" of a nobleman or king. The native Anglo-Saxon word for this was folc-gemot. The plural became the usual form c.1500; sense of "temporary platform for political speeches" developed by 1719, apparently from London's Court of Hustings, presided over by the Lord Mayor, which was held on a platform in the Guildhall. This sense broadened to encompass the whole election process.