Almshouse

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A charitable institution providing housing and care for the poor and elderly is known for offering accommodation and sometimes assistance in daily living
2. This type of facility serves as a residence for individuals lacking financial means, often including essential services and support
3. An establishment designed to shelter those in need, particularly the destitute and aged, while delivering some degree of medical or social assistance

Etymology: Almshouses take their name from two plain English parts. "Alms" is an old word for charitable giving, and it reached Middle English from Old English "ælmesse," which itself came through Latin "eleemosyna" from the Greek "eleēmosynē," meaning mercy or pity. "House" is the ordinary Germanic word for a building. Put together, the compound names a house maintained with money given to the poor, rather than a house built for the poor by any particular person. The earliest recorded forms appear in Middle English as "almeshous" and "almassehous," showing that the compound was already in use while the spelling of the first element was still settling. The word therefore describes a settled institution rather than a passing coinage: the charitable house was a familiar feature of medieval life, and the name simply said what it was.

Synonyms: poorhouse, charity home, asylum, shelter, refuge