housel

H4O1U1S1E1L1
/ˈhaʊzəl/

noun

The Eucharist.

OriginMiddle English housel ← Old English hūsl ← Proto-Germanic *hunslą →
UncommonScrabble 9
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Meanings

housel1

noun
  1. archaicThe Eucharist.

    She said that he had a fair sweet death through God His goodness with mass-priest to be shriven, holy housel and sick men’s oil to his limbs.

    1922 February 2, James Joyce, Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC
    1 more example

    The Holy Houſel ought to be kept vvith great Diligence and not be permitted to be ſtale, but another be alvvays hallovved anevv for Sick Men in about a Seven-night, or Fortnight, ſo as that it may not be muſty at leaſt.

    1720, Elfric [i.e., Ælfric of Abingdon]; John Johnson, “A.D. DCCCCLVII. Elfric’s Canons.”, in A Collection of All the Ecclesiastical Laws, Canons, Answers, Or Rescripts, with Other Memorials Concerning the Government, Discipline, and Worship of the Church of England, […], 1st part, London: […] Robert Knaplock […], and Samuel Ballard […], →OCLC

housel2

verbhousel (third-person singular simple present housels, present participle (US) houseling or (UK) houselling, simple past and past participle (US) houseled or (UK) houselled)

present singular third person housels · US participle present houseling · UK participle present houselling · US participle past houseled · US past houseled · UK participle past houselled · UK past houselled

  1. archaictransitiveTo administer the Eucharist to.
  2. raretransitiveTo prepare for a journey.

    So housel all our hackneys that they may feel Compunction in their feet, and tire at Highgate.

    1750, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, Mr. Theobald (Lewis), The Works of Francis Beaumont, and Mr. John Fletcher

Housel3

proper nounHousel (plural Housels)

plural Housels · alternative Houseal

  1. A surname from German.

Origin

housel · noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱwen-“holy”
  2. Proto-Germanic*hunslą“sacrifice”
  3. Old Englishhūsl“housel, Eucharist, the Host, a sacrifice”
  4. Middle Englishhousel
  5. Englishhousel

From Middle English housel, from Old English hūsl (“housel, Eucharist, the Host, a sacrifice”), from Proto-Germanic *hunslą (“sacrifice”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwen- (“holy”). Cognate with Icelandic húsl (“housel”), Gothic 𐌷𐌿𐌽𐍃𐌻 (hunsl, “sacrifice, offering”), Proto-Slavic *svętъ (“holy, sacred”) (OED). The OED cites usage of the noun from the 10th to the 17th century. 19th century use is deliberately archaizing. The verb is attested from the 11th century, and in occasional usage persists into the 19th.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

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housel · verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱwen-“holy”
  2. Proto-Germanic*hunslōną“to sacrifice, offer”
  3. Old Englishhūslian“to administer the sacrament”
  4. Middle Englishhouselen
  5. Englishhousel

From Middle English houselen, from Old English hūslian (“to administer the sacrament”), from Proto-Germanic *hunslōną (“to sacrifice, offer”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwen- (“holy”). Cognate with Icelandic húsla (“to housel”), Old Swedish húsla (“to administer the Eucharist to”), Gothic 𐌷𐌿𐌽𐍃𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (hunsljan, “to offer, sacrifice”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

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Housel · proper noun

  1. GermanHauschild
  2. EnglishHousel

Americanized form of German Hauschild.

More words from German

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Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with housel

arousalspousalmouseholeespousalcarousaltousle
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

housel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/housel

MLA

“housel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/housel. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “housel,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/housel.

Source: housel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.