Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
longhouse

longhouse

5 5.8
A long shared house where many family members live and meet
  • noun
  • /ˈlɔːŋˌhaʊs/
translation icon : casa larga
  • From archaeological investigations, the museum discovered that Native American Huron longhouses were once scattered across the museum grounds.
  • lived in longhouses
  • longhouses and hamlets
  • People of the Longhouse

The people of the streaming tide were the rabbit eaters, the cattail eaters were the people of the longhouse.

Examples

  • Rolf went back to his longhouse, stunned that it took him only an hour to return.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • The museum director invited the elders to participate and provided the setting, which included a traditional longhouse and tipi.

    Academic text (2016)

  • You left me to return to the longhouse over an hour ago.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • "I will bring him into the longhouse when I wish to return."

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Well, we have prepared food and drink for you in the Longhouse.

    Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver (2024)

  • I shall build a longhouse.

    The Indian in the Cupboard (1995)

  • There came a cry from outside the longhouse, then there was shouting and loud arguing.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Everyone's up in the Longhouse.

    Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)

  • Opposite page: In the longhouse, drummers and singers gather around cedar fires to honor the first returning salmon.

    Academic text (1995)

  • Clans lived together in longhouses that were owned by the women of the clans.

Synonyms

dwelling house
vslonghouse
2.8

A house or building where people live, not a business building

is a long communal building used by whole groups, often in traditional societies

Surface Forms

longhouse singular
longhouses plural

Morphology

longhouse = long + house (transparent) = long + house

The meaning is a straightforward combination of 'long' + 'house' describing a long dwelling, which learners can derive from the parts.

Etymology

The word longhouse is simply long + house, with long meaning 'long' and house meaning 'home', so it names a long building where many people lived together and shared meals and ceremonies.