Early Hick Lexicon — Dwelling Terms

Entries in the Dwelling Terms semantic field.

wesp /wesp/

cellar, basement, lower enclosed space (noun) — Lexicalized relic; productive case use normally appears as -esp [Architecture, Dwelling Terms, Spatial Terms]

Proto-Hick *wesu pu

Lexical bridge between wes "cover, enclose" and the productive subessive -esp. Probably first meant an enclosed hole or burrow-dwelling, broadened under Maritime Hick influence to enclosed lower spaces such as ship holds, then generalized in Early Hick to cellars, basements, and similar lower enclosed spaces.