HOUSE Definition & Meaning - Black's Law Dictionary (2024)

Definition & Citations:

1. A dwelling; a building designed for the habitation and residence of men.”House” means, presumptively, a dwelling- house ; a building divided into floors andapartments, with four walls, a roof, and doors and chimneys; but it does not necessarily mean precisely this. Daniel v. Coulsting, 7 Man. &C. 125; Surman v. Darley, 14 Mees. & W. 183.”House” is not synonymous with “dwelling- house.” While the former is used in abroader and more comprehensive sense than the latter, it has a narrower and morerestricted meaning than the word “building.” State v. Garity, 46 N. H. 61.In the devise of a house, the word “house” is synonymous with “messuage,” audconveys all that comes within the curtilage. Rogers v. Smith, 4 I’a. 93.2. A legislative assembly, or (where the bicameral system obtains) one of the twobranches of the legislature; as the “house of lords,” “house of representatives.” Also aquorum of a legislative body. See South- worth v. Palmyra & J. R. Co., 2 Mich. 2S7.3. The name “house” is also given to some collections of meu other than legislativebodies, to some public institutions, and (colloquially) to mercantile firms or joint-stock companies.