house society

noun

A society where kinship and political relations are organized around membership in corporately-organized dwellings rather than around descent groups or lineages.

OriginFrench société à maison →
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Meanings

nounhouse society (plural house societies)

plural house societies

  1. anthropologyA society where kinship and political relations are organized around membership in corporately-organized dwellings rather than around descent groups or lineages.

Origin

  1. Frenchsociété à maison
  2. Englishhouse society

Calque of French société à maison, coined by Claude Lévi-Strauss.

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

house society. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/house%20society

MLA

“house society.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/house%20society. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “house society,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/house%20society.

Source: house society on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.