Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - housing

 I. noun  Date: 14th century  1.  a. shelter, lodging  b. dwellings provided for people  2.  a. a niche for a sculpture  b. the space taken out of a structural member (as a timber) to admit the insertion of part of another  3. something that covers or protects: as  a. a case or enclosure (as for a mechanical part or an instrument)  b. a casing (as an enclosed bearing) in which a shaft revolves  c. a support (as a frame) for mechanical parts  II. noun  Etymology: Middle English, from house ~ (from Anglo-French huce, houce, of Germanic origin) + -ing; akin to Middle High German hulft covering  Date: 15th century caparison 1