hustings

Where does the word "hustings" come from? It comes from Old Norse hús-þing, passing through Old English before entering English (1710s).

Hustings’s story begins in Old Norse: hús-þing meant “house assembly.” 'house assembly', a council held indoors by a king or chief. By 1000s, the word had taken hold in Old English as hūsting. London's Court of Husting, one of the city's oldest courts, took the name. It reached English by 1710s as hustings. The platform where candidates were nominated; open hustings ended with the secret ballot in 1872. Today, hustings means a platform or campaign events for election speeches.

1. Stage 1 · Old Norse · 800s-1000s hús-þing "house assembly", 'house assembly', a council held indoors by a king or chief.
2. Stage 2 · Old English · 1000s hūsting "assembly, court", London's Court of Husting, one of the city's oldest courts, took the name.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1710s hustings "election platform", the platform where candidates were nominated; open hustings ended with the secret ballot in 1872.