rhizoverbBeta
DictionarymenageHousehold
noun

menage

may-NAHZH/meɪˈnɑːʒ/

A group of people sharing a home and domestic life.

The menage shares the everyday work of setting the table.

A small household sharing everyday domestic work: a couple and their child set their home table together, with a compact kitchen and family footwear at the doorway establishing a shared dwelling.
Etymology
menageFrenchhousehold

Ménage refers to a household as a domestic establishment: the people living together and the management of their shared home, rather than simply the building.

More examples

  • She managed the practical affairs of the menage.
  • The unusual menage shared meals and household expenses.
  • He described the everyday routines of their small menage.

Forms

menage · menages

Similar words

household
Household is the ordinary term; menage is a more literary borrowing.
family
A family involves recognized personal ties; a menage concerns people living together and need not be a family.