casa

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

Or CASE, a house, respectable or otherwise. Probably from the Italian CASA.—Old Cant. The Dutch use the word KAST in a vulgar sense for a house, i.e., MOTTEKAST, a brothel. CASE sometimes means a water-closet, but is in general applied to a "house of accommodation." CASA is generally pronounced carzey.

Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)

Where it’s used: Origin British & Irish English
Sources & notes

Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “casa” mean?

Or CASE, a house, respectable or otherwise. Probably from the Italian CASA.—Old Cant. The Dutch use the word KAST in a vulgar sense for a house, i.e., MOTTEKAST, a brothel. CASE sometimes means a water-closet, but is in general applied to a "house of accommodation." CASA is generally pronounced carzey.

Is “casa” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.