long house

American  

Or longhouse

noun

1. a communal dwelling, especially of the Iroquois and various other North American Indian peoples, consisting of a wooden, bark-covered framework often as much as 100 feet (30.5 meters) in length.

---

long house British  

noun

1. a long communal dwelling of the Iroquois and other North American Indian peoples. It often served as a council house as well

2. a long dwelling found in other parts of the world, such as Borneo

---

Etymology

Origin of long house

First recorded in 1615–25

Example Sentences

For the next 20 years, the council debated in the long house — a long, low structure made of whole logs used for ceremonial events and Haudenosaunee gatherings.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 17, 2024

In 1994, Wolfe bought two meadows and a low-ceilinged long house in Suffolk called Wakelyns, which had a been a pig farm, then a dog-breeding site.

From The Guardian • Oct. 10, 2019

Local builders constructed a long house on the site of an old traditional village where the film is being shot.

From New York Times • Jun. 11, 2017

More than 40 excavations were carried out along a 46km stretch, and key discoveries included a Neolithic long house in Kent, a Romano-British villa and two Anglo-Saxon cemeteries.

From BBC • Jan. 29, 2013

Far in the deep recesses of the long house we came to a small room.

From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya