gill housen.
/ˈdʒɪl ˌhaʊs/, U.S. /ˈdʒɪl ˌhaʊs/ Now historical.
A tavern, a public house; spec. (a) one where gill ale (cf. jill n. Compounds 1) is sold; (b) one where drinks are sold by the gill (gill n.2 1).In quot. 1728, and in some later uses, the precise meaning is unclear.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > drinking > drinking place > [noun] > tavern or public house
houseOE
tavern1297
tavern-housea1400
sunc1400
tap-house1500
tippling-housea1549
innsc1550
bousing-inn1575
ivy-bush1576
osteria1580
ordinary1590
caback1591
taberna1593
bousing-house1594
pothouse1598
red lattice1604
cupping-house1615
public house1617
busha1625
Wirtshaus1650
bibbery1653
cabaret1656
gaming ordinary1667
public1685
shop1695
bibbing-housea1704
dram-shop1725
gill house1728
rum shop1738
buvette1753
dram-house1753
grog-shop1790
wine-vault1791
pub1800
pulperia1818
pulqueria1822
potation-shop1823
rum hole1825
Wirtschaft1834
drunkery1836
pot shop1837
drinkery1840
rum mill1844
khazi1846
beer-shop1848
boozer1895
rub-a-dub1898
Weinstube1899
rubbity-dub1905
peg house1922
rub-a-dub-dub1932
rubbity1941
Stube1946
superpub1964
1728 A. Pope Dunciad iii. 133 Thee each Ale-house, and each Gill-house mourn.
1755 J. N. Scott Bailey's Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. (new ed.) Gill-house, a house where the medicated gill is sold.
1810 Encycl. Londinensis VIII. 569/1 Gill-house, a house where ardent spirit is sold by the gill.
1886 T. Knox in D. H. Edwards Mod. Sc. Poets 9th Ser. 114 Nae yill-house nor gill-house can Jamie entice.
1966 Amer. Speech 41 128 The Scottish Gaelic, seipinn..may be compared to expressions like dram-house, pot-house, and gill-house.
1994 Weed Technol. 8 413/2 Ale houses were commonly called gill houses.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1728