shack

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun small crude shelter used as a dwelling
  2. verb make one's home in a particular place or community
  3. verb move, proceed, or walk draggingly or slowly

Etymology

Unknown. Some authorities derive this word from Mexican Spanish jacal, from Nahuatl xacalli (“adobe hut”). Alternatively, the word may instead come from ramshackle/ramshackly (e.g., old ramshackly house) or perhaps it may be a back-formation from shackly. Compare Tavringer Romani hak (“place, house”), Traveller Norwegian hak (“place”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

hovel, hut, hutch, shanty

A single word — an entire dictionary opens.

Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.

Try

A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning

Continue reading