housing 1
/how"zing/ , n.
1. any shelter, lodging, or dwelling place.
2. houses collectively.
3. the act of one who houses or puts under shelter.
4. the providing of houses for a group or community: the housing of an influx of laborers.
5. anything that covers or protects.
6. Mach. a fully enclosed case and support for a mechanism.
7. Carpentry. the space made in one piece of wood, or the like, for the insertion of another.
8. Naut.
a. Also called bury . the portion of a mast below the deck.
b. Also called bury . the portion of a bowsprit aft of the forward part of the stem of a vessel.
c. the doubling of an upper mast.
9. a niche for a statue.
[ 1250-1300; ME husing. See HOUSE, -ING 1 ]
Syn. 5. covering, casing, shield, sheath.
housing 2
/how"zing/ , n.
1. a covering of cloth for the back and flanks of a horse or other animal, for protection or ornament.
2. housings . the trappings on a horse.
[ 1635-45; cf. earlier house, ME hous ( e ), houc ( e ) in same sense houce hulfti- (cf. ML hultia ), akin to MD hulfte cover for bow and arrow, MHG hulft covering; -ING 1 added by assoc. with HOUSE, HOUSING 1 ]