English

Noun

housel

1. (archaic) the Eucharist
   • 1922, James Joyce, Ulysses

     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.

Etymology 2

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”).

Verb

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

1. (transitive, archaic) To administer the Eucharist to.
2. (transitive, rare) To prepare for a journey.
   • 1750, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, Mr. Theobald (Lewis), The Works of Francis Beaumont, and Mr. John Fletcher:

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

Old French

Etymology

huese +‎ -el.

Noun

housel m ‎(oblique plural houseaus or houseax or housiaus or housiax or housels, nominative singular houseaus or houseax or housiaus or housiax or housels, nominative plural housel)

1. small boot

Descendants

• French: houseau