Housel

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. An archaic term for the Eucharist, the Christian sacrament of bread and wine ; to give the sacrament of Communion to a person who is dying or ill
2. The Christian rite of the Lord's Supper, taken as bread and wine ; to offer the sacrament of Holy Communion to someone, especially at the point of death
3. Old word for the sacrament of Holy Communion in Christian worship ; to administer that sacrament to a believer, traditionally at the end of life

Etymology: Housel is an old English word for the Eucharist, the Christian sacrament of bread and wine. Its root is a word meaning "sacrifice," which goes back to Proto-Germanic *hunslą, and the same root reaches into Gothic and Icelandic. Its deeper ancestor is a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "holy," which also gave rise to the Slavic word for holy and sacred. So the word's oldest sense is less about bread and wine than about offering something set apart for the sacred. In Old English, "hūsl" named the sacrament itself, and the verb "hūslian" meant to administer it. Both passed into Middle English as "housel" and "houselen." Forms of the noun were in use from around the 10th century into the 17th, and the verb is attested from the 11th century and survived in occasional use into the 19th. By the 19th century, writers used "housel" deliberately to give a religious or old-fashioned tone. The verb in particular kept a slight archaic flavour that made it useful for writers seeking a medieval setting.

Synonyms: administer communion, give the Eucharist, communicate