Meanings
plural cowhouses · alternative cow-house · alternative cow house
- A house (barn or shed) for keeping cows.
A colony of Elves had taken up their abode under the floor of the cowhouse, or, it is more likely, were there before it was made a cowhouse.
1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 1381 more example
When he had churned some time he recollected that the cow, which they kept at home, hadn't been let out of the cow-house, and hadn't had a straw of hay or anything to drink, although it was late in the day.
1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 42
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishcowhous
- Englishcowhouse
From Middle English cowhous, cowehous, equivalent to cow + house.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
cowhouse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cowhouse
“cowhouse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cowhouse. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cowhouse,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cowhouse.
Source: cowhouse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.