name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   An outbuilding behind the main building, or an annex attached to the rear of it; especially, a scullery or washhouse. dialectal

   "[…] to abstene […] fra all melting […] of talloun within thair bak hous […]"

2. 2
   An outhouse: an outbuilding used as a lavatory. Canada, US, euphemistic

   "BACK'HOUSE... a necessary."

Proper Noun

1. 1
   A surname from Old English.

Synonyms

All synonyms

backsidebacksidebasementbathroomcancloset

Example

More examples

"[…] to abstene […] fra all melting […] of talloun within thair bak hous […]"

Etymology

Etymology 1

From back + house.

Etymology 2

From Old English bæchūs (“bakehouse”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.