maisonette

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A maisonette (two-level apartment with a separate entrance) differs from a flat (any apartment within a larger building, not necessarily two-storey) in that a maisonette must have two connected floors. A duplex apartment is the American English equivalent of a maisonette and describes the same two-level layout, though it may or may not have a separate street entrance. A townhouse is a tall, narrow house joined to neighbouring houses in a row; it includes both floors within one private building rather than being a unit inside a larger block. In practice, a British speaker would say 'I live in a maisonette' to emphasise the two levels and the separate door, while an American speaker would say 'duplex apartment' for a similar two-storey unit inside a building.

Common collocations

Etymology

From French 'maisonnette' meaning 'small house', formed from 'maison' (house) plus the diminutive suffix '-ette'. The word entered English in the 19th century and originally referred to a small separate house. Over time it also came to mean a two-level apartment with its own entrance, particularly in British English.