noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A frequent meeting place; a haunt; often specifically, a drinking-house or tavern. Scotland, archaic

   "[A]s this Scotsman's howf lies right under your lee, why, take any port in a storm."

2. 2
   A rudimentary shelter, especially one used by a mountaineer; a hut. Scotland, archaic

Verb

1. 1
   To frequent or resort to a place; to haunt. Scotland, archaic, intransitive

Example

More examples

"[A]s this Scotsman's howf lies right under your lee, why, take any port in a storm."

Etymology

Borrowed from Scots howf (noun, verb).

Related phrases

public house

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