household arts
- noun
- /ˈhaʊshoʊld ɑrts/
- Archaic
:
artes del hogar
- She learned various household arts like cooking and sewing during her upbringing.
Examples
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Many teenagers find studying household arts useful for independent living once they graduate.
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He decided to take a class to improve his skills in household arts such as baking and home repairs.
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To experience them again today gives me a sense of living in a time warp—a time when women were knowledgeable and secure in the household arts and enjoyed them.
Academic text (1992)
Synonyms
61
1.8
Work that keeps a home clean and running, like cleaning and cooking
4
5.1
A school class that teaches cooking, sewing, and home skills
3
2.5
Care and work to keep a house and family well
3
3.1
A school subject about running a home, like cooking, sewing, and managing money
1
4.8
School subject that teaches cooking, cleaning, sewing, and how to run a home
Knowing how to do household tasks like cooking and cleaning
Work to keep a home clean and organized
Managing a home and doing daily tasks like cooking and cleaning
Surface Forms
Morphology
household + art
The meaning 'practical skills in managing a home' is directly compositional from 'household' (relating to the home/domestic management) plus 'arts' (skills or practiced abilities). This is a common, cross-linguistically transparent label (e.g. 'artes domésticas'/'domestic arts') and a B1 learner who knows both words should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
The term household arts comes from the simple picture of useful work done in a home: household means the home and arts means skillful tasks like cooking, sewing and cleaning. That's why today it refers to the practical 'skills' people use to 'manage a home'.