In 1986 I married into a Mineral King cabin. I’d always wanted either a cabin or a beach house. Here in Tulare County, cabins are more available and accessible than beach houses. It has worked out well, even to the point that my art business is called Cabin Art. (Or Cabinart. . . for a Typo-Psycho, I am awfully ambivalent about the spelling of this invented word.)
But what exactly is a cabin? A dear old friend and I began discussing this, and I was surprised that I am unable to define the word. Some cabin neighbors along with Off Trail Guy and I had a discussion about the definition of “cabin”, and the word “woods” came up several times in both discussions.
My hiking buddy suggested I try Webster. I was so caught off guard that I said something truly clueless: “What is that? Some internet thing?” We all got a big laugh when I realized she meant Noah Webster and the Merriam-Webster dictionary, not some World Wide Web gizmo.
We had an old dictionary at the cabin, so I looked up “cabin”. The 3rd definition said, “A small, rude hut”.
Clearly the word “rude” has changed in meaning since the dictionary was published in 1935. I looked up “rude” and saw “Poorly constructed”.
Alrighty, then. A cabin is a small, poorly constructed hut.
My Very Wise Dad always told us it is better to laugh than to cry. I might even fall down laughing at this definition, especially when folks mention their Shaver Lake or Tahoe cabins.
Let’s talk more about this tomorrow.
How do you define “cabin”? (Don’t spoil things by looking it up first – just speak from your gut or your heart.)
13 Comments
I would go with small, probably one room, made of wood, in a remote location, with only basic plumbing and electricity (if any). Somewhere you’d only want to be with friends, not acquaintances or frenemies. Somewhere where the only night-time entertainment is stargazing and a campfire.
(Hmm, if the cabin were in Britain, I think I’ve just described a beach hut!)
Thanks for stopping by my blog: nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you, Pauline! Thank you for the cross-cultural thoughts about a cabin/beach hut. I associate the word “cottage” with Britain more than “cabin”; I wonder if “cabin” became an iconic American dwelling because of Abraham Lincoln.
It was a treat to find your blog and I look forward to reading more from you!
non- fancy structure in the mountains. It does have to be in the mountains. Our family has the saying, “It is not a cabin, it is a house”. Of course this is our own private rating system. I agree, it is complicated.
Thank you, Anonymous. We have a similar saying, but sometimes we say, “It is not a cabin; it is a mansion”. “Non-fancy” is good, another way to say rustic, but perhaps a tick or two higher than just rustic?
A cabin is spare, with good views of mountains and trees, water if you’re lucky. Just the bare necessities of shelter, a source of warmth, a good cookstove (sometimes the same thing), a comfortable place to sit, and an ease of moving inside and out and back again. A flush toilet and a bathtub or shower are quite nice, too.
Joyce, “spare” is a good word, because it could mean uncrowded or extra. I particularly like “comfortable place to sit”, because it implies a place of relaxation.
A cabin is: family, peacefulness, warmth, laughter, board games, a stone hearth fireplace, the lingering smell of wood-smoke and a hearty breakfast, creaky boards, old feather pillows, and cozy bunk beds.
Dan, you are a poet! Off Trail Guy and I have a few of those things in our cabin but I am wondering this: does a hearty breakfast include cheerios or crankios?
We didn’t usually eat cold cereal because it was left over from the previous summer and was quite stale. Bacon and eggs were inevitably included. Although crankios weren’t eaten, there were occasions that people acted that way…
To me, a cabin is a place to get away from “everyday” life and experience the outdoors.
I understand from my more learned fans in the northeast that I was wrong when I would say I wanted a cabin on a lake. Wrong, because a cabin on a lake is called a cottage. Who knew?!
I didn’t check Webster’s.
Welcome, Jon! A place to get away from everyday life could be a motor home or a tent too. . . a canvas cabin, perhaps? And I have heard people refer to cabins on lakes as their “lakehouses”, probably not one word but they pronounce it as if it is.
My only experience with cabins have been Girl Scout camps and Mineral King. Therefore, I would use “primitive” in the definition. So maybe something like,
Primitive, rustic dwelling frequently found in an isolated location and often used as a secondary or vacation home.
How’s that?
Sharon, “primitive” is a great adjective, unless we are discussing one of those fancy-pants places at Big Bear or Tahoe. A cabin is a complicated thing to define, for sure.
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