Hut

A hut is a small dwelling, which may be constructed of various local materials. Huts are a type of vernacular architecture, being built of readily available materials.

Etymology

The word originally referred to a quickly built and temporary small shack. It was apparently first used in English as a military word in the 1650s, from the French hutte, from the Middle High German hütte, probably from Proto-Germanic *hudjon-, related to the root of Old English hydan, from Proto-Indo-European *keudh-, from root keu-. Other variations include Old Saxon hutta, Danish hytte, Swedish hytta, West Frisian and Middle Dutch hutte, Dutch hut perhaps from High German.
The Ukrainian seems to be known from even earlier ages, including Avestan or ancient Iranian origins.

Overview

The construction of a hut is generally less complex than that of a house but more so than that of a shelter such as a tent and is used as temporary or seasonal shelter or as a permanent dwelling in some indigenous societies. Additionally, the word hut is often used in the Western world for a wooden shed.

Uses

Huts are used as dwellings, for storage, workshops, and teaching.
For the last few hundred years, the shepherd's hut has been used as a mobile multi-purpose home, sheltering shepherds as they move with their flocks.
Some displaced populations of people use huts throughout the world during a diaspora. For example, temporary collectors in the wilderness agricultural workers at plantations in the Amazon jungle.
The term has been adopted by climbers and backpackers to refer to a more solid and permanent structure offering refuge. These vary from simple bothies – which are little more than very basic shelters – to mountain huts that can be more luxurious, e.g. including multiple rooms and facilities such as restaurants.File:MarinoDelNorteEscalante.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A nipa hut used to accommodate tourists on Negros in the Philippines

Types

Many huts are designed to be relatively quick and inexpensive to build. Construction often does not require specialized tools or knowledge.
Huts exist in practically all nomadic cultures, being built with materials such as wood, snow, stone, grass, palm leaves, branches, clay, hides, fabric, or mud using techniques passed down through the generations. Some huts are transportable and can stand most conditions of weather. In tropical and subtropical areas, huts used as homes allow for high airflow and heat dissipation.

Traditional

Bahay kubo – a traditional Filipino stilt house made of bamboo and palm fronds as roofing. They are designed to be lightweight so they can be moved from one place to another by being carried by group of men, a practice commonly called bayanihan.
Balok – a Siberian wilderness hut made of logs, usually communal, used by hunters, fishermen and travelers in the more distant parts of Siberia. Some baloks are mobile and mounted on sleds.
Barabara – an earth sheltered winter home of the Aleut people
Barracks – an old term for a temporary hut, now more used as a term for military housing and a unique hay storage structure called a hay barrack
Bothy – originally a one-room hut for male farm workers in the United Kingdom, now a mountain hut for overnight hikers
Burdei or bordei – a dugout or pit-house with a sod roof in Romania, Ukraine and Canada
Cabana – an open shelter
Dry stone huts
* Clochán – Irish dry stone hut
* Mitato – a small, dry stone hut in Greece
* Orri – a French dry stone and sod hut
* Sheiling – originally a temporary shelter or hut for shepherds, now may be a stone building. Common in Scotland.
* Trullo - a dry stone hut in Apulia, Italy
Earth lodge – Native American dwelling
Heartebeest Hut – hut used by South African Trekboer built of reeds, sometimes plastered with mud
Hytte – Norwegian cabin or hut
Igloo – a hut made of hard snow or ice
Kolba – Afghanistan hut
Khata – Ukrainian traditional whitewashed wattle-and-daub hut, usually with two rooms, loft, and straw roof
Lodge is a general term for a hut or cabin such as a log cabin or cottage. Lodge is used to refer to a tipi, sweat lodge, and hunting, fishing, skiing, and safari lodge.
Rondavel – Central and South Africa
Roundhouse – a circular hut or house typically with a conical roof
Sod house – a pioneer house type on the American Plains where wood was scarce
Sukkah – Israel and Jewish diaspora
Tule hut – coastal North America, West Coast, Northern California
Oca – Brazilian hut
Quinzhee – Canadian snow shelter
Yurt – Central and North Asia
Modern
HORSA hut – a prefabricated school building built to cope with additional demand from the Education Act 1944
Laing hut – a prefabricated lightweight timber wall sections bolted together, externally clad with plasterboard and felt; designed in 1940 for barrack accommodation
Nissen hut – a prefabricated steel structure made from a semicircle of corrugated steel, invented in the early 20th century
* Jamesway hut – a variation of a Nissen hut
* Romney hut – a variation of a Nissen hut
* Quonset hut – a type of Nissen hut of lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated steel
Pratten hut – a prefabricated building generally used in schools for classrooms in the UK after World War II
Scout hut – term given for the buildings used as the meeting place of members of The Scout Association world-wide

File:Saami Family 1900.jpg|thumb|A Sámi family in front of goahti around 1900 in northern Scandinavia

Marketing usage

The term is used to name many commercial stores, companies, and concepts. The name implies a small, casual venue, often with a fun and friendly atmosphere. Examples include Pizza Hut and Sunglass Hut. Kiosks may be constructed to look like huts and are often found at parks, malls, beaches, or other public places, selling a variety of inexpensive food or goods. Luxury hotels in tropical areas where guests are assigned to occupy their own freestanding structure sometimes call the structure a "hut", though such huts typically bear little more than superficial resemblance to the traditional concept of a hut.