Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “household” come from?

Household comes from Middle English houshold, from Middle English hold and Old English hūs (house), from Proto-Germanic hūsą, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots kel-, éǵh₂, and (s)kew-.

household (English): Collectively, all the persons who live in a given...

Definitions

  1. Collectively, all the persons who live in a given...

Ancestry of “household”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishhousholdfamily, household; house, residence; household...
2Middle Englishhoushouse, residence; house of worship, temple;...
3Old Englishhūsdwelling, shelter, house; house
4Proto-West Germanichūshouse
5Proto-Germanichūsąhouse
6Proto-Indo-European(s)kewH-to cover, bedeck; cover

Words derived from “household”

  • intrahousehold
  • interhousehold
  • nonhousehold
  • multihousehold
  • householdry
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)kewH- →