Etymograph

English

household

Household comes from Middle English houshold ‘family, household’.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500houshold1‘family’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1591household1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English household
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Sixt: “In thee thy mother dies, our household's name, /…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500housholdWiktionary, English household‘family’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1591householdWiktionary, English household. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Sixt: “In thee thy mother dies, our household's name, /…”

Every English word from Middle English houshold

Today it means

noun All the persons who live in a given house or other home; a family including attendants, servants etc.; a domestic or family establishment.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “household”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Middle English houshold / household

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