Homes

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /həʊmz/

Definitions

1. Various places that provide shelter for people, often serving as a refuge and a space for personal connections and memories
2. Structures or dwellings designed to give people a place to live and rest
3. Residences that offer shelter and comfort for individuals or families

Etymology: "Homes" is simply the plural of "home," so the story is really that of the singular noun. The English word traces back to Old English "hām," meaning a dwelling or village, and it was the everyday word for the place where a household lived long before it came to mean emotional comfort. Its deepest ancestor, the Proto-Indo-European "*ḱóymos," meant "village" or "home," and it grew from a root meaning "to lie down," so the original idea was of a place where people settled and rested. That root has an unexpected family. Ancient Greek "kṓmē," meaning "village," comes from the same source, as does Latin "civis," "citizen," which shows how closely the idea of a settled community and the idea of a home were once linked. The word also survives in many Germanic languages, such as German "Heim" and Swedish "hem," which carry the same warmth of belonging.

Synonyms: houses, residences, dwellings

Antonyms: homelessness, abandonment