workhouse
workhouse
UK[ˈwɜːkhaʊs]US[ˈwɜːrkhaʊs]
n
A house where poor people in the past were sent to live and given work to do.
n
A house in which paupers were set to work.
Morpheme Breakdown
work
house
work
something done, labor, action.
house
a dwelling, shelter, building.
Etymology
The word "workhouse" is a transparent compound formed from two native English words, "work" and "house." Its literal meaning, "a house for work," directly reflects its historical function as an institution where the destitute were housed and required to labor in exchange for support. The concept became formalized in England with the Poor Law of 1723, establishing the workhouse as a central feature of the welfare system, intended to be austere to deter dependency. Over time, the term acquired strong connotations of hardship and institutional cruelty, evolving from a simple descriptive compound into a symbol of a specific socio-economic policy.
Analysis
Structure: work + house
- work: From Old English weorc, meaning "something done, labor, action." Functional role: The core activity performed.
- house: From Old English hūs, meaning "a dwelling, shelter, building." Functional role: The type of building or institution.
Examples
In Victorian England, families were often separated upon entering the workhouse.
The old workhouse building has been converted into apartments.
His research focused on the living conditions within the 19th-century workhouse system.