longhouse

noun

long·house ˈlȯŋ-ˌhau̇s

-ˈhau̇s

: a long communal dwelling of some North American Indians (such as the Iroquois)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web The totem pole, which was used as a longhouse entrance pole and then a grave post, was removed from a burial site and sold to the museum in 1913 for 45 Canadian dollars, according to museum records. —

Alaa Elassar, CNN, 19 Feb. 2023 The Three Sisters are eaten in the longhouse — the long, communal dwelling — at many of our Haudenosaunee ceremonies and festivals, including the O’rhotsheri (green bean), Okahsero:ta (green corn), Kanen’shon:a (seed) and Ka’khowanen (harvest) ceremonies. —

San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Nov. 2020 On a port call in the village of Kasaan, for example, travelers visit a 19th-century Haida longhouse, said to be the last remaining structure of its kind in the United States. —

Paul Brady, Travel + Leisure, 16 Mar. 2023 On selected evenings, an actor playing the role of the Viking Chieftain welcomes visitors to the longhouse for a feast full of storytelling and song. —

David Nikel, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2023 Built of various materials including wood, stone, and turf, the Scandinavian longhouse was a large hall where inhabitants ate and slept, with additional rooms for storage. —

National Geographic, 12 Jan. 2023 In a series of meetings at the Musqueam longhouse, leaders from the three communities worked through key differences over land. —

Norimitsu Onishi, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2022 The Celilo Village longhouse filled up by breakfast. —

Tony Schick, ProPublica, 28 Dec. 2022 Because of the rain and the bad roads, we were stuck in a bamboo longhouse a day’s drive from a hospital. —

Brent Crane, Discover Magazine, 23 Dec. 2020 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'longhouse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.