from home

English

Etymology

From Middle English fram home, from hame, from hom.

Prepositional phrase

from home

1. (idiomatic, dated, chiefly UK) Away from home, not at home; away, out.
   • c. 1598, William Shakespeare, Henry V‎^[1], Act I, Scene 2:

     men are merriest when they are from home

   • 1722, Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders‎^[2], London: W. Chetwood and T. Edling, page 411:

     the old Gentleman being from Home, or out of the way when my Messenger came, my Letter came directly to my Sons Hand

   • 1847, Anne Brontë, chapter 8, in Agnes Grey‎^[3], volume 3, London: Thomas Cautley Newby, page 133:

     I cannot bear the thoughts of a Christmas spent from home

   • 1969, John Fowles, chapter 21, in The French Lieutenant’s Woman‎^[4], London: Panther, published 1971, page 156:

     He had excuses. His family difficulties, his long stay from home.

Derived terms

• home from home