Birdhouse

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈbɝdhaʊs/

Definitions

1. A shelter crafted for birds to create nests and raise their young, usually placed in outdoor settings to attract avian life
2. A small constructed refuge designed to provide birds with a place to build nests and rear chicks
3. A purpose-built enclosure offered outdoors for birds to nest and nurture their offspring

Etymology: Birdhouse is about as transparent as compounds get: "bird" joined to "house," with nothing hidden in either part. The "house" element goes back to Old English "hus," a word with Germanic roots that originally meant a dwelling of any kind, and "bird" is an older English word whose earlier form was "brid," used for young birds before it came to mean birds in general. Put together, the term describes a small structure built to house a bird, with the same sense of shelter that a human house provides. The word is a plain English formation rather than a borrowing, so its meaning has stayed close to the literal one from the start. A birdhouse is built for nesting or roosting, and the compound follows the pattern of other English names like "doghouse" and "henhouse," where an animal's name is placed before "house" to show whose shelter it is.

Synonyms: aviary, birdcage