almshouse en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
Etymology
From Middle English almeshous, almassehous, equivalent to alms + house.
Meanings
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A building of residence for the poor, sick or elderly of a parish. Originally founded by the Church, and usually funded by charitable donations.
Much they saw, and far they went, and many homes they visited, but always with a happy end. The Spirit stood beside sick beds, and they were cheerful; on foreign lands, and they were close at home; by struggling men, and they were patient in their greater hope; by poverty, and it was rich. In almshouse, hospital, and jail, in misery's every refuge, where vain man in his little brief authority had not made fast the door, and barred the Spirit out, he left his blessing, and taught Scrooge his precepts.
1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Three. The Second of the Three Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. […], London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 116:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| almshouses | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| alms-house | alternative | lexicographic |
Synonyms
Translations (7)
de Armenhaus (Translations) · fr aumônerie (Translations) · et seek (Translations) · nl aalmoezeniershuis (Translations) · af aalmoeseniershuis (Translations) · pl przytułek (Translations) · sv fattigstuga (Translations)