Homework
nounSchool or college work that a student is set to complete outside of class.
How to spell homework
8 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce homework
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does homework mean?
- nounSchool or college work that a student is set to complete outside of class.
Homework in a sentence
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The teacher set three pages of maths homework for the weekend.
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He finished his homework before dinner so he could watch the match.
Where does homework come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
Homework is a plain compound built from two of the oldest words in the language, both inherited from Old English. The first element, home, descends from Old English ham, meaning a dwelling, village, or place where one lives, and the second, work, comes from Old English weorc, meaning labour or a deed performed. The two have Germanic roots running right back through Proto-Germanic, which is why neither part shows any of the silent letters or borrowed spellings that trip people up in words taken from Latin or French. The compound itself is relatively recent, appearing in English in the 1600s in the sense of work done at home rather than in a workshop, and it narrowed to its familiar schoolroom meaning of lessons set to be completed outside class during the 1800s. Because both halves are spelled exactly as they sound and never double a letter at the join, the word is almost entirely free of traps.
How the word is built
- home (the place where one lives)
- work (labour, tasks); a transparent compound noun
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