2026

Hovel

//ˈhɒvəl//

Definitions

1
An open shed for sheltering cattle, or protecting produce, etc., from the weather.
2
A poor cottage; a small, mean house; a hut.
'Behold! once more I kiss thee, and by that kiss I give to thee dominion over sea and earth, over the peasant in his hovel, over the monarch in his palace halls, and cities crowned with towers, and those who breathe therein.'
Similar
shack shanty
3
In the manufacture of porcelain, a large, conical brick structure around which the firing kilns are grouped.

verbhovels · hoveling · hovelling · hoveled · hovelled

1
To put in a hovel; to shelter.
To hovel thee with swine, and rogues forlorn.
2
To construct a chimney so as to prevent smoking, by making two of the more exposed walls higher than the others, or making an opening on one side near the top.

Word Origin

From Middle English hovel, hovil, hovylle, diminutive of *hove, *hof (“structure, building, house”), from Old English hof (“an enclosure, court, dwelling, house”), from Proto-West Germanic *hof, from ...

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