workhouse
workhouse Lexical Profile
workhouse Game Scores & Validity
• noun
British A historical public institution in which destitute people were provided with rudimentary food and lodging in exchange for compulsory manual labor.
"Charles Dickens vividly depicted the harsh conditions of the Victorian workhouse in his novel Oliver Twist."
American A local correctional facility or house of correction where prisoners serving short sentences for minor offenses are required to perform manual labor.
"The magistrate sentenced the offender to thirty days of labor in the county workhouse."
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English weorchus, originally meaning a workshop or manufactory; the sense of a public institution where destitute people were lodged and compelled to work emerged in the mid-17th century under the English Poor Laws.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.