DictionaryRoot: hām
Old English
hām
home or dwelling place
Forms
- hām
- home — The modern form reflects later vowel changes.
- -ham — A shortened form preserved in many place names.
Origin
An inherited Germanic dwelling word.
Note
The independent word and the place-name ending developed different modern pronunciations.
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noun / verb
homestead
HOHM-sted/ˈhəʊmsted/
A home with land for farming, or settling and farming such land.
Etymology
Literally a family's dwelling place, a homestead came to include the land supporting that household. This broader property sense connects the house itself with the surrounding family farm.