The Meaning of Abode: What It Is and How To Use It

Do you know the definition of abode? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the word abode, including its definition, etymology, usage, examples, and more!

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What does the word abode mean?

According to Your Dictionary of the English Language and other sources like Collins English Dictionary and American Heritage Unabridged Dictionary, the word abode is a noun that means a house, place of residence, or location of extended stay. You might hear people reference their own humble abode or a new abode. 

Many different languages also contain words that mean abode. You may notice that some of these words look and sound similar to one another. These are called cognates, which are words that look, sound, and mean similar things across different languages. These are often formed when two languages or words share a common origin or ancestral language. This list of translations for the word abode is provided by Word Sense. These can help you learn a second language!

  •  Esperanto: hejmo‎, loĝejo‎
  • ‎  Pashto: كور‎, كوټه
  •  Zulu: ikhaya‎
  •  Gurmukhi: ਘਰ‎ (ghar)
  •  Bulgarian: дом‎ (masc.)
  •  Scots: hame‎
  •  Sotho: lehae‎
  •  Kannada: ಮನೆ‎
  •  Afrikaans: huis‎
  •  Slovene: dóm‎ (masc.)
  •  Shahmukhi: گھر‎ (ghar)
  •  Catalan: llar‎ (masc.), casa‎ (fem.)
  •  Tagalog: bahay‎, tahanan‎
  •  Aragonese: fogar‎ (masc.)
  •  Welsh: cartref‎ (masc.)
  •  Hawaiian: kauhale‎, home‎
  •  Cherokee: ᎣᏪᏅᏒ‎ (owenvsv)
  •  Ido: hemo‎
  •  Albanian: shtëpi‎
  •  French: foyer‎ (masc.)
  •  Icelandic: heimili‎ (neut.), (away from home) heiman‎, (away from home) að heiman‎, (home) heim‎, (at home) heima‎
  •  Kurmanji: mal‎
  •  Oriya: ଘର‎
  •  Spanish: hogar‎ (masc.)
  •  Faroese: heim‎ (neut.)
  •  Bavarian: Ham‎
  •  Ukrainian: дім‎ (masc.)
  •  Karelian: kodi‎
  •  Roman: dom‎ (masc.)
  •  Friulian: cjase‎ (fem.)
  •  Choctaw: chuka‎
  •  Hindi: घर‎, निवास‎ (nivās), मकान‎ (makān), आश्रय‎
  •  Portuguese: lar‎ (masc.), casa‎ (fem.)
  •  Malay: rumah‎
  •  Chiricahua: kuugha̧‎
  •  Russian: дом‎ (masc.)
  •  Malayalam: വീട്‎
  •  Tamil: வீடு‎
  •  Dutch: huis‎ (masc.), heem‎ (neut.), thuis‎ (neut.)
  •  Volapük:
  •  Macedonian: дом‎ (masc.)
  •  Uyghur: ئۆي‎
  •  Italian: casa‎ (fem.), focolare‎ (masc.)
  •  Cyrillic: дом‎ (masc.)
  •  Maori: kāinga‎
  •  Persian: خانه‎ (xâna)
  •  Bakhtiari: حونه‎
  •  Old French: maison‎ (fem.), maisun‎ (fem.)
  •  Maltese: dar‎
  •  Irish: baile‎ (masc.)
  •  Romanian: casă‎ (fem.)
  •  Hungarian: otthon‎
  •  Nahuatl: chantli‎
  •  Indonesian: rumah‎
  •  Arabic: بَيْت‎ (masc.)
  •  Sinhalese: ගෙදර‎
  •  Latvian: nams‎ (masc.)
  •  Lojban: zdani‎
  •  Galician: fogar‎ (masc.), lar‎ (masc.)
  •  Chamicuro: ajkochi‎
  •  Baluchi: لوگ‎, گس‎ (gis)
  •  German: Heim‎ (neut.), Zuhause‎ (neut.), Wohnung‎ (fem.)
  •  Danish: hjem‎ (neut.)
  •  Venda: nnḓu‎
  •  Yiddish: היים‎
  •  Cantonese: 家‎ (gaa1)
  •  Basque: etxe‎
  •  Vietnamese: nhà‎, (birthplace) nơi sinh‎, chỗ ở‎, gia đình‎, nhà ở‎, nhà cửa‎
  •  Romansch: chasa‎ (masc.) (Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader), casa‎ (fem.) (Sursilvan), tgea‎ (fem.), tgeasa‎ (fem.) (Sutsilvan), tgesa‎ (fem.) (Surmiran), chesa‎ (fem.) (Puter)
  •  Khmer: ផ្ទះ‎ (pteah)
  •  Finnish: koti‎, (colloquial) hima‎, (colloquial) himppe‎, kotitalo‎
  •  Estonian: kodu‎
  •  Greek: σπίτι‎ (neut.), σπιτικό‎ (neut.)
  •  Polish: dom‎ (masc.)
  •  Telugu: ఇల్లు‎
  •  Norwegian: hjem‎ (neut.), heim‎ (neut.)
  •  Czech: domov‎ (masc.)
  •  Latin: domus‎ (fem.), domicilium‎ (neut.)
  •  Mandarin: 家‎ (jiā)
  •  Thai: บ้าน‎ (bâan)
  •  Scottish Gaelic: dachaigh‎ (fem.), taigh‎ (masc.)
  •  Armenian: տուն‎
  •  Tajik: хона‎
  •  Vilamovian: haom‎ (neut.)
  •  Navajo: hooghan‎
  •  Swedish: hem‎ (neut.), hus‎ (neut.), boning‎ (common)
  •  Korean: 집‎, 댁‎ (honorific)
  •  Sanskrit: गृह‎ (gṛhá)
  •  Japanese: 家‎, お住まい‎ (おすまい, osumai), お宅‎ (おたく, otaku) (honorific)
  •  Sorani: ماڵ‎ (mał)
  •  Hebrew: בית‎
  •  Xhosa: ikhaya‎
  •  Azeri: ev‎
  •  Turkish: ev‎
  •  Urdu: گھر‎
  •  Marathi: घर‎
  •  Western Apache: gowąh‎
  •  Livonian: kuod‎
  •  Asturian: casa‎ (fem.)
  •  Tsonga: kaya‎
  •  Ngarrindjeri: whalie‎
  •  Slovak: domov‎ (masc.)
  •  Tulu: ಇಲ್ಲು‎ (illu)
  •  Min Nan: 厝‎, 㢄‎
  •  Georgian: სახლი‎

What is the origin of the word abode?

According to Etymonline, Middle English abod or Middle English abood and Old English bade or bode meaning stay or delay. This comes from the Germanic baid and abiden. This word has been used since the late 16th century or late 17th century. This comes from the past participle of abide, the roots abad, ābīdan, the ​​​preterit of abide, ābād , and ​abaid.

What are synonyms of the word abode?

There are many different words that one can use in place of the word abode. These are called synonyms, which are words and phrases that have the same meaning as another word or phrase. Synonyms are useful words to know because they can help you avoid repeating the same word over and over again while also expanding your vocabulary. This list of synonyms for the word abode is provided by Power Thesaurus

  •  inhered
  •  rooms
  •  nest
  •  remain
  •  place
  •  dwelt
  •  addresses
  •  bide
  •  setup
  •  shelter
  •  residence
  •  crash pad
  •  pad
  •  trysting place
  •  RV
  •  cabin
  •  dining-room
  •  homes
  •  dwelling-place
  •  apartment
  •  casa
  •  habitat
  •  continue
  •  fireside
  •  mansion
  •  dwelling place
  •  quarter
  •  put up
  •  hostel
  •  quarters
  •  resided
  •  lodging
  •  bullpen
  •  chambers
  •  bear
  •  seat
  •  inhabitation
  •  camp
  •  dwellings
  •  inhabitancy
  •  habitations
  •  place of residence
  •  property
  •  accommodation
  •  place of abode
  •  dwelling house
  •  homestead
  •  dwelling
  •  commorancy
  •  obey
  •  billet
  •  layout
  •  hole
  •  occupancy
  •  accommodations
  •  address
  •  stay
  •  lodgings
  •  diggings
  •  housing
  •  hearth
  •  flat
  •  legal residence
  •  flophouse
  •  home
  •  hotel
  •  endure
  •  den
  •  villa
  •  haunt
  •  living quarters
  •  observe
  •  whereabouts
  •  cottage
  •  residences
  •  barracks
  •  private house
  •  hearthstone
  •  base
  •  domiciles
  •  doss house
  •  residency
  •  roost
  •  habitation
  •  suffer
  •  co-op
  •  roof
  •  digs
  •  room
  •  hut
  •  bunkhouse
  •  domicile
  •  crib
  •  household
  •  private residence
  •  hermitage
  •  condo
  •  biosphere
  •  home plate
  •  flop
  •  tolerate
  •  bouse
  •  condominium
  •  house
  •  adjacent buildings

How can the word abode be used in a sentence?

The word abode can be used in many different ways in the English language. Using words in a sentence is a great way to incorporate them into your vocabulary. You can also try making flashcards or quizzes to help you memorize their definitions. Try using this word of the day in a sentence today! Below are several examples of abode to get you started. 

The new homeowners were so excited to move into their current abode. They had finally found a permanent home – however, the cave in the backyard presented an evil omen when human bones were found inside. This was a foretelling of the horror to come.

The oceanographers made an alternative abode of life in a submarine so they could gain little insights into sea life. The dwelling units were in need of repair and had piles of mess everywhere, but it was an inexpensive alternative to finding residences.

The nomadic mongol found temporary housing in the circular domed dwelling. This adobe abode had a beautiful front room and parlor, and was made by self-supporting monuments. Also there at that particular time were the Turkic people of central Asia who found a spot in a small farmhouse nearby with a small area for a pond.

The children made a fort in the living-room slash recreation room in the principal establishment. The abode was a cliff dwelling, and the children pretended they were climbing the sides of a cliff on the adjacent land. They used the ledges in the room as the cliff.

The word abode was also used in the following quote from the 1890 Winston Churchill book The Celebrity in chapter 8. This quote is from the book and provided by Your Dictionary.

“The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again. Our table in the dining-room became again the abode of scintillating wit and caustic repartee, Farrar bracing up to his old standard, and the demand for seats in the vicinity rose to an animated competition.”

Overall, the word abode means

Sources:

  1. Abode synonyms – 776 Words and Phrases for Abode | Power Thesaurus 
  2. abode: meaning, origin, translation | Word Sense 
  3. Abode Meaning | Best 13 Definitions of Abode | Your Dictionary 
  4. abode | Origin and meaning of abode | Online Etymology Dictionary