boarding school
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A school where the pupils are fed and lodged as well as taught The term is sometimes applied to "prison." I am going to boarding school, going to prison to be taught good behaviour.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “boarding school” mean?
A school where the pupils are fed and lodged as well as taught The term is sometimes applied to "prison." I am going to boarding school, going to prison to be taught good behaviour.
Is “boarding school” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.