homestead Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the home and adjacent grounds occupied by a family
  2. noun land acquired from the United States public lands by filing a record and living on and cultivating it under the homestead law
  3. noun dwelling that is usually a farmhouse and adjoining land
  4. verb settle land given by the government and occupy it as a homestead

WordNet

Home"stead noun
Etymology
AS. hamstede.
Definitions
  1. The home place; a home and the inclosure or ground immediately connected with it. Dryden.
  2. The home or seat of a family; place of origin.
    We can trace them back to a homestead on the Rivers Volga and Ural. W. Tooke.
  3. (Law) The home and appurtenant land and buildings owned by the head of a family, and occupied by him and his family.

Webster 1913