hovel

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English hovel, hovil, hovylle, diminutive of *hove, *hof (“structure, building, house”), from Old English hof (“an enclosure, court, dwelling, house”), from Proto-West Germanic *hof, from Proto-Germanic *hufą (“hill, farm”), from Proto-Indo-European *kewp- (“arch, bend, buckle”), equivalent to howf +‎ -el. Compare Middle High German hobel (“cover, lid, covered wagon”). Cognate with Dutch hof (“garden, court”), German Hof (“yard, garden, court, palace”), Icelandic hof (“temple, hall”). Related to hove and hover. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈhɒvəl/, /ˈhʌvəl/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈhɑvəl/, /ˈhʌvəl/ (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈhɔvəl/, /ˈhɒvəl/, /ˈhɐvəl/, /ˈhavəl/ Rhymes: -ɒvəl Rhymes: -ʌvəl === Noun === hovel (plural hovels) An open shed for sheltering cattle, or protecting produce, etc., from the weather. (derogatory) A poor cottage; a small, mean house; a hut. Synonyms: shack, shanty In the manufacture of porcelain, a large, conical brick structure around which the firing kilns are grouped. (slang, archaic, Midwestern US) A straitjacket. ==== Translations ==== === Verb === hovel (third-person singular simple present hovels, present participle (US) hoveling or (UK) hovelling, simple past and past participle (US) hoveled or (UK) hovelled) (transitive) To put in a hovel; to shelter. (transitive) To construct a chimney so as to prevent smoking, by making two of the more exposed walls higher than the others, or making an opening on one side near the top.