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hovel

- 5 dictionary results

hov⋅el

  [huhv-uhl, hov-] noun, verb, -eled, -el⋅ing or (especially British) -elled, -el⋅ling.
Use hovel in a Sentence
–noun
1. a small, very humble dwelling house; a wretched hut.
2. any dirty, disorganized dwelling.
3. an open shed, as for sheltering cattle or tools.
–verb (used with object)
4. to shelter or lodge as in a hovel.
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME hovell, of uncert. orig.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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hov·el   (hŭv'əl, hŏv'-)   
n.  
  1. A small, miserable dwelling.
  2. An open, low shed.

[Middle English, hut.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Hovel

Hov"el\, n. [OE. hovel, hovil, prob. a dim. fr. AS. hof house; akin to D. & G. hof court, yard, Icel. hof temple; cf. Prov. E. hove to take shelter, heuf shelter, home.]

1. An open shed for sheltering cattle, or protecting produce, etc., from the weather. --Brande & C.

2. A poor cottage; a small, mean house; a hut.

3. (Porcelain Manuf.) A large conical brick structure around which the firing kilns are grouped. --Knight.

Hovel

Hov"el\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Hoveledor Hovelled; p. pr. & vb. n. Hoveling or Hovelling.] To put in a hovel; to shelter.

To hovel thee with swine, and rogues forlon. --Shak.

The poor are hoveled and hustled together. --Tennyson.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : hovel
Spanish: cuchitril, tugurio,
German: der Schuppen,
Japanese: あばら家
More Translations »

hovel 
1358, "roofed passage, vent for smoke," later "shed for animals" (1435), of unknown origin. Meaning "shed for human habitation; rude or miserable cabin" is from 1625. It also sometimes meant "canopied niche for a statue or image" (1463).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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