posthouse

9.9

An inn where people changed horses and rested on old mail routes

noun
/ˈpoʊstˌhaʊs/

Archaic

: posada

The weary travelers stopped at the posthouse to change horses and get some rest.

Examples

In the nineteenth century, the village’s posthouse became an important hub on the mail route.
Many travelers would stop at the posthouse for a meal.
He recalled tales of drivers meeting at the posthouse before heading out on snowy roads.
The old posthouse still stands at the edge of the village.
In the nineteenth century, the village’s posthouse became an important hub on the mail route.
The weary travelers stopped at the posthouse to change horses and get some rest.
He recalled tales of drivers meeting at the posthouse before heading out on snowy roads.

Synonyms

roadhouse

vsposthouse

16 4.9

A place outside town like a restaurant that serves food, drink, and live music and dancing

is a historic inn used for horse exchange and traveler rest on mail routes

post house

vsposthouse

Archaic

9.9

An old inn where travelers stop to rest and change horses

is the same meaning but written as one word without a space

How Big

hotel

∞ 1.0

posthouse

Archaic

9.9

inn

239 1.0

cottage

171 1.0

Surface Forms

posthouse singular

posthouses plural

Morphology

posthouse = post + house (semi-transparent) = post + house

The components 'post' + 'house' are clear, but the specific historical sense 'inn where post horses were changed' is specialized and somewhat archaic for modern learners.

Etymology

Posthouse is a simple compound of post and house. post was the name for a station where 'mail' coaches and riders changed horses, and house means a place to stay, so a posthouse was the roadside inn where travelers rested and horses were changed.