Abode Is the Past Tense of Abide
An abode is a place where someone lives. The word is the old past tense of abide, which once meant to wait or remain.
An abode is a place of residence, a formal word that survives mainly in legal and jocular use. It is a past tense that turned into a noun: *abide* meant to wait or remain, its past form was *abode*, and the place where you remained became your abode. The verb's other survival is *abide by*, meaning to keep to a rule.
- A dwelling place. *Their humble abode.*
- Right of abode — the legal right to live somewhere. *Right of abode in the UK.*
- Of no fixed abode — homeless, in legal language. *A man of no fixed abode.*
- Abide — to tolerate, or to remain. *I cannot abide it.*
- Abide by — to comply with. *Abide by the rules.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | abode | A modest abode. |
| Plural | abodes | Two abodes. |
| Verb | abide | Abide with me. |
| Past | abode | There he abode. |
| Modern past | abided | He abided by it. |
- Welcome to my humble abode.Usually said lightly.
- A man of no fixed abode was charged.Legal reporting.
- Both parties must abide by the decision.The surviving verb.
Past tenses that became nouns
- Abode — from abide
- Bond — related to bind
- Draught — from draw
- Gift — from give
- Thrift — from thrive
From *abide*, Old English *abidan*, to wait for. The noun is recorded from the 1200s, first meaning a delay and then a dwelling.
What does of no fixed abode mean?
It is legal language for having no permanent address. It appears in court reporting rather than everyday speech.
Is abode still used seriously?
In law, yes, as in right of abode. In ordinary speech it is usually humorous or deliberately formal.