Limehouse

name, noun, verb

name, noun, verb ·2 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An oast house that uses a limekiln.

    "In a number of parishes tithe was due on mills, and, at Fowey, on limehouses, but only for coppice wood."

Verb
  1. 1
    To make a fiery political speech. British, dated
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A district in eastern London, now part of the borough of Tower Hamlets (OS grid ref TQ3681).

Example

More examples

"In a number of parishes tithe was due on mills, and, at Fowey, on limehouses, but only for coppice wood."

Etymology

Etymology 1

The place name is a reference to local lime oasts. The earliest reference is to Les Lymhostes, in 1356. The verb is a reference to a speech made there by the Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd George in 1909.

Etymology 2

From lime + house.

Related phrases

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