maisonette

or mai·son·nette

[mey-zuh-net]

noun

a small house, especially one connected to a large apartment building.

an apartment, usually of two floors connected by an internal staircase; duplex apartment.

Origin of maisonette

1810–20; < French, Old French, equivalent to maison house (see mansion) + -ette -ette

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

British Dictionary definitions for maisonette

maisonette

maisonnette

noun

self-contained living accommodation often occupying two floors of a larger house and having its own outside entrance

Word Origin for maisonette

C19: from French, diminutive of maison house

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 maisonette

1818, "small house," from French maisonnette, diminutive of maison "house" (11c.), from Latin mansionem (see mansion). Meaning "a part of a building let separately" is from 1912.