The word inquilinate is defined in the dear old OED as:To dwell in a strange place.
I'm not sure if Clerkenwell counts. As the poet John Oldham wrote in 1680:
‘Tis a long way to where I dwell,
At farther end of Clerkenwell:
There in a garret near the sky,
Above five pairs of stairs I lie.
Which, other than the precise number of stairs, describes me perfectly.
That the OED is not able to quote a single usage of inquilinate proves that every man's home is ordinary to him.
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Interesting, because the Italian word for 'tenant' is 'inquilino'. Thanks for that.
ReplyDeleteTo dwell in a strange place... yup thats me
ReplyDelete"And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land" (Exodus 2:22; KJV). Moses was quite the queer inquilinator...
ReplyDeleteI suppose one could inquillinate in a prison...
ReplyDeleteOff the subject, do you know what's behind "ta-ta" (as in goodbye", a phrase used a lot in wales and liverpool and the like.
I've never read Robert Heinlein's book myself but I spent a part of my youth dwelling in "Heavy Metal Heaven"
ReplyDeleteIron Maiden - Stranger In A Strange Land
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry42FHfz67A&ob=av2n