How about worship-house?
EmmettRedd said
How about worship-house?
In more than one of the Louis L'Amour novels, a character will boast "I'll tear down his meathouse", meaning that he'd soundly thrash his opponent.
My late wife and I were reading the L'Amour books together in the 1980s, and she thought that was an interesting term. She posited an argument between a big beefy woman and her similarly-built fella. She threatens to tear down his meathouse, and he responds in kind. Does he refer to her body as a meathouse? Seems awfully masculine. And calling it a cathouse would really put him in the doghouse.
But I think you've hit upon the answer. He would refer to her body as a house of worship, and before you know it, they'd be wrestling around, but in a highly friendly manner.
Worship house is rather uncommon in my experience. Church services, weddings, funerals, and church suppers are held in a meetin' house, wearing Sunday-go-to-meetin' clothes.
I'm surprised they didn't mention house of worship or place of worship. They are both very common terms. In fact church is usually used exclusively for Christian groups. You never hear about the Jewish church or Muslim church. Church of Satan may be the exception.
Dick said
I'm surprised they didn't mention house of worship or place of worship. They are both very common terms. In fact church is usually used exclusively for Christian groups. You never hear about the Jewish church or Muslim church. Church of Satan may be the exception.
"Church" originally meant "assembly".
As I understand it, early in the history of the journeyman tradition, itinerant printers had to go to the printers' church - a guild, rather than a religious organization - for permission to practice the trade. They had to demonstrate proficiency and pay dues. I'm not sure if any guilds other than printers called their local organizations churches.us organization - prove himself before the master journeyman, and pay dues. I'm not sure if any other skilled trades called their locals churches or not.
In England in the 1700, there was a crown monopoly on printing by The Stationers Company. It goes on about it quite extensively in the biography of Thomas Paine, as I remember it. That wouldn't be true in other countries. The Stamp Act of 1765 was only practical because of that monopoly; those were tax stamps, postage stamps not having been invented until much later. Benjamin Franklin wasn't just a printer in Philadelphia; he was the first successful printer in Lancaster, PA and other cities, where he would provide the equipment and a partner would operate the business. His "franchising" gave him incentive to become politically active as well as the income to devote time to it.
I can't find anything online to validate "church as printer's guild", but I think I read of it in the Inland Printer in the early 1970s. In locking up quoins to hold handset type in place, however, a tool was used sorta like the chuck key for an electric drill. It became known as a "church key" long before the crown cap or the flat-lid beer can was introduced. Possessing a church key went a long way towards establishing bona fides before the master of the local printers church. And I can't find anything online to validate that, either.
Not having much luck with online searches this week. The Armistice was effective "the 11th hour, the 11th day, the 11th month" which was 6 hours after it was signed at Compiegne, but apparently that was local (sun) time. What time would that have been in GMT? And how did it happen that it was signed at 5 AM? Were they up all night, not reaching an agreement before then? Why didn't I think to ask these dumb questions in a junior high history class?
I think the term "Congregation" is a good generic term to use when people are involved in any house of worship regardless of the religion.