Hoghenhine—A Fishy Proposition

Guest or host—we have all been one or the other or both. When planning either to travel or host travelers, many factors influence the length of the visit.  Are the hosts good cooks? Are the beds comfy? Are the guests charming? Do they arrive bearing gifts, fish perhaps?  Benjamin Franklin offered the frequently-referenced guideline in his witty observation, “Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.” The length of time, three days, makes sense in terms of smelly fish as a yardstick for worn out welcomes.

However, imagine becoming legally responsible for guests after a three-day stay! If this situation were the case, many hosts would surely insist on sending their guests away with the smelly fish. Evidently, in the Middle Ages, this far-fetched notion was reality. Recently, the word “hoghenhine” arrived in my inbox in the form of the daily word from the “Oxford English Dictionary,” defined as “A person who has stayed in a household for three nights, and so becomes the legal responsibility of the host; a member of a household; a dependant.” The word derives from the early Middle English aȝen hine (also oȝen hine), and literally means “own servant” or “member of one's own household.”

The “American Heritage Dictionary” does not define the word. Perhaps it became obsolete for a reason.  Imagine waiting until time to send a child to college and then sending said child to stay with grandparents. After three days, the grandparents would be responsible for tuition bills! Of course, the concept of servitude in the word makes becoming a “hoghenhine” less attractive as a way to spice up the wardrobe or get that new car.

The word itself has an animal nature to it, consisting of “hog,” “hen,” and “hine,” which initially reminded me of a hind or deer. Such company would become undesirable in many homes after three days, if not sooner. While pet hogs or hens exist, usually these animals are associated with the barnyard.

In addition, looking at these words as slang, a “self-indulgent, gluttonous, or filthy person” or “one that uses too much of something” is informally known as a hog. In the slang world, “hen” describes an “older woman, especially one who is engaged in conversation with other women.” This type of hen has the reputation for gossip. “Hine” does not have the distasteful associations of “hog” and “hen,” but it is not an overwhelmingly positive word, either. A hine can be “a servant; a farm laborer; a peasant; a hind,” according to “The Free Dictionary.” “The Urban Dictionary,” defines hine as “inconsequential: the inconsequential passing of time. That thing that happens when you intend to have a bath and eat some food then alas it's quarter to midnight and you've.... done... nothing.” Combine the parts and we get a gossipy glutton who wastes time, certainly not the ideal guest in most cases.

Did Benjamin Franklin know the concept of hoghenhine when he penned his fishy admonition?  Regardless, three days is plenty of time for hosting or guesting, unless the fish are really tasty and the guests shower every day.