longhouse

See also: long-house and long house

English

Model of a Nordic Bronze Age longhouse

Alternative forms

• long house, long-house

Etymology

From long +‎ house. Use for outhouses possibly via Whittington's Longhouse, a public toilet in medieval London, but first attested in translation of a similar French expression.

Noun

longhouse (plural longhouses)

1. A long communal housing of the Iroquois and some other American Indians, the Malaysians, the Indonesians, the Vikings, and many other peoples.
   • 1751, C. Gist, Journals, page 51:

     They marched in under French Colours and were conducted into the Long House.

   • 1753, George Washington, Diary, volume I, page 50:

     We met in Council at the Long House.

   • 1826, James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans, Vol. I, Preface, p. vi:

     ... where the ‘long house’, or Great Council Fire, of the nation was universally admitted to be established.

   • 1894 May 1, Sarawak Gazette, page 67:

     The practice of herding together in ‘long houses’ prevents mental and moral improvement and hinders advance in gardening and planting and agricultural developement generally.

   • 1912, Hose & al., Pagan Tribes of Borneo, Vol. I, Ch. iv:

     The Kenyah village frequently consists of a single long house.

   • 1966, G.E. Evans, chapter V, in Pattern under Plough, page 72:

     The Welsh long-houses... with long sides and opposite doors providing a passage from side to side, and dividing the building roughly in two.

   • 1971 July 15, Lady, page 88:

     The longhouse is an object lesson in community living.

   • 2005, Paul Carter, Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs, Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin, page 29:

     One day our neighbours came back from a trip into the jungle to visit relatives who still lived in an old-style "long house".

2. (obsolete, euphemistic) An outhouse: an outbuilding used for urination and defecation.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:bathroom

   • 1622, M. Alemán, chapter II, in J. Mabbe, transl., Rogue, page 355:

     To make wads and wisps for those that go to the Long-house (you know what I meane).

3. (slang, derogatory, far-right subcultures) In certain strains of far-right thought: the modern society, perceived as matriarchal, and therefore stifling non-conformity and masculine values.
   • 2022 February 19, @giantgio, Twitter‎^[1]:

     Incredible witnessing the tone of the longhouse authoritarian liberal regime is that of an obsessive and histrionic ex or overbearing mother trying to gaslight you. The twilight days of the Soviet union at least tried to project an air of masculine competency via propaganda.

   • 2023 February 16, L0m3z, “What is the Longhouse?”, in First Things‎^[2]:

     The most important feature of the Longhouse, and why it makes such a resonant (and controversial) symbol of our current circumstances, is the ubiquitous rule of the Den Mother. More than anything, the Longhouse refers to the remarkable overcorrection of the last two generations toward social norms centering feminine needs and feminine methods for controlling, directing, and modeling behavior.

   • 2024 January 28, Ruxandra Teslo, “Political polarisation by gender: a matter of aesthetics?”, in Ruxandra's Substack‎^[3]:

     The term "Longhouse" in online discourse, particularly among right wing communities, is a metaphorical concept that describes a society characterized by matriarchal control and the suppression of non-conformity. This concept emphasizes the prioritization of emotional safety and the avoidance of direct conflict, often at the expense of privacy and individual liberties.

Hypernyms

• house

Translations

communal dwelling

• Czech: dlouhý dům m
• Finnish: pitkätalo
• Iban: rumah panjai
• Italian: casa lunga f
• Malay: rumah panjang (ms)
• Malecite-Passamaquoddy: qanotuwan
• Montana Salish: usšnéɫxʷ
• Oneida: kanushésn̲e̲

outhouse — see outhouse

References

• Oxford English Dictionary. "long, adj.¹ and n."