workhouse

work·house

W0222500 (wûrk′hous′)n.1. A prison in which limited sentences are served at manual labor.2. Chiefly British A poorhouse.

workhouse

(ˈwɜːkˌhaʊs) n1. (Law) (formerly in England) an institution maintained at public expense where able-bodied paupers did unpaid work in return for food and accommodation2. (Law) (in the US) a prison for petty offenders serving short sentences at manual labour

work•house

(ˈwɜrkˌhaʊs)

n., pl. -hous•es (-ˌhaʊ zɪz) 1. a house of correction in which the prisoners are required to work. 2. Brit. a poorhouse. [1645–55]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	workhouse - a poorhouse where able-bodied poor are compelled to laborpoorhouse - an establishment maintained at public expense in order to provide housing for the poor and homelessBritain, Great Britain, U.K., UK, United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; `Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom
	2.	workhouse - a county jail that holds prisoners for periods up to 18 monthsgaol, jail, jailhouse, pokey, poky, slammer, clink - a correctional institution used to detain persons who are in the lawful custody of the government (either accused persons awaiting trial or convicted persons serving a sentence)

Translations

workhouse

workhouse:

see poor lawpoor law,
in English history, legislation relating to public assistance for the poor. Early measures to relieve pauperism were usually designed to suppress vagrancy and begging.
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Workhouse

a special shelter for the poor in England during the 17th through 19th centuries.

Living conditions in the workhouses differed little from those in prisons. Initially workhouses were under the jurisdiction of the local parishes; however, with the growth of pauperism during the industrial revolution, the workhouse system was centralized (by an act passed in 1834). All those who appealed for public assistance were forced to enter workhouses. The threat of being placed in a workhouse compelled many poor people to agree to any sort of working condition in factories, and this enabled entrepreneurs to lower wages. The common people, who called workhouses “bastilles for the poor,” often hindered the establishment of new workhouses and destroyed those already in existence. The Chartists included a demand for the elimination of workhouses in their 1842 petition. In connection with the development of social insurance and pensions in the 20th century, the workhouse system became outdated, and the workhouses were converted into homes for invalids and the aged.

REFERENCES

Engels, F. Polozhenie rabochego klassa ν Anglii. K. Marx and F. Engels, Soch., 2nd ed., vol. 2.
Morton, A. L., and G. Tate. Istoriia angliiskogo rabochego dvizheniia (1770–1920). Moscow, 1959. (Translated from English.)

workhouse

1. An institution for confining individuals sentenced to terms usually less than one year. 2. (Brit.) A poorhouse.

workhouse

1. (formerly in England) an institution maintained at public expense where able-bodied paupers did unpaid work in return for food and accommodation 2. (in the US) a prison for petty offenders serving short sentences at manual labour

workhouse

noun

Words related to workhouse

noun a poorhouse where able-bodied poor are compelled to labor

Related Words

poorhouse
Britain
Great Britain
U.K.
UK
United Kingdom
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

noun a county jail that holds prisoners for periods up to 18 months

Related Words

gaol
jail
jailhouse
pokey
poky
slammer
clink