Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Backhouse
Back′houseˊ
,Noun.
[
Back
, a. + house
.] A building behind the main building.
Specifically:
A privy; an outhouse; a necessary.
Webster 1828 Edition
Backhouse
BACK'HOUSE
, n.[back and house.] A building behind the main or front building.6
Definition 2024
backhouse
backhouse
See also: back-house and back house
English
Alternative forms
Noun
backhouse (plural backhouses)
- (now dialect) An outbuilding behind the main building.
- (US and Canada, euphemistic) An outhouse: an outbuilding used as a lavatory.
- 1847, Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language:
- BACK'HOUSE... a necessary.
- 1939, Christopher Morley, Kitty Foyle, Ch. ii, p. 23:
- ...the chlorides Mother was always throwing into the little outdoor backhouse...
- 1847, Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language:
Hypernyms
Synonyms
- (outhouse): backside (UK); see also Wikisaurus:bathroom
References
- Oxford English Dictionary. "back-house, n."