| 1. | living quarters and meals: In this school students must pay by the week for bed and board. |
| 2. | one's home regarded as exemplifying the obligations of marriage: He said he would not be responsible for her debts after she left his bed and board. |
bed and board
Lodging and meals, as in Housekeepers usually earn a standard salary in addition to bed and board. This phrase was first recorded in the York Manual (c. 1403), which stipulated certain connubial duties: "Her I take ... to be my wedded wife, to hold to have at bed and at board." Later bed was used merely to denote a place to sleep.