housel

verb /ˈhaʊzəl/

1. To administer the Eucharist to.

   archaic, transitive

2. To prepare for a journey.

   rare, transitive

   So housel all our hackneys that they may feel Compunction in their feet, and tire at Highgate.

Where it comes from

From Middle English houselen, from Old English hūslian (“to administer the sacrament”), from Proto-Germanic *hunslōną (“to sacrifice, offer”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwen- (“holy”). Cognate with Icelandic húsla (“to housel”), Old Swedish húsla (“to administer the Eucharist to”), Gothic 𐌷𐌿𐌽𐍃𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (hunsljan, “to offer, sacrifice”).

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry housel (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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