Greenhouse etymology?
It crops up occasionally - I get asked "Why is it called a greenhouse when it's not green?"
Looking up the basic dictionaries gives us the useful information that the word greenhouse is derived from the combination of the word green with the word house, oh gee thanks for that.
Now the obvious answer is that it's a house that you keep green things in, therefore a green's house; I can also point out that the word green shares a kinship with the word grow so it could be grow house.
Trouble is the first such examples were called giardini botanici botanical gardens or orangeries so where did greenhouse first appear and why?
The answer is - I've no idea. It's possible that the OED has a full listing of first use etc. but the online concise version doesn't and it appears no one has reprinted any record elsewhere.
So why greenhouse and not hothouse (which is used) or sunhouse or growhouse (after all we have growbags)?
Anyone know?
2 comments:
The full online OED is not much more useful. There's no etymology, and the first citation is 1664 EVELYN Kal. Hort. (1729) 198 Set your..Windows and Doors of the Green-houses and Conservatories open.
Ah thank you I had a vague memory that you had access to the full version. Hmm that hyphenation is interesting.
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