Houseling

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The practice of giving shelter and nourishment to others involves both governance and care of a household, creating an environment filled with hospitality and comfort for its residents
2. A person who lives in a particular house or dwelling ; the activity of running or organizing a household with duties like caring for residents and maintaining the home
3. Someone occupying a house or domicile ; overseeing tasks related to the upkeep and daily functions of a household

Etymology: Most English speakers would never guess that "houseling" once meant receiving Communion. The earlier sense comes from Old English "hūslung," meaning "administration of the sacrament," formed from "hūslian," "to administer the sacrament," which in turn came from "hūsel," the old word for the Eucharist. The Middle English form "houselyng" carried that religious meaning for centuries, referring to the act of taking the sacrament, especially as a final rite for the dying. The modern sense of a person occupying a house is a different path. Here the word is simply "house" plus the suffix "-ling," a common Germanic ending that marks a small or young thing or a person connected with something, as in "darling" or "foundling." The two histories meet only in form: the sacramental word was built on "hūsel," not on "house," so the household sense is a later, separate formation that happens to look identical.