Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
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noun
A major brokerage company, generally nationwide, with multiple branches.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Canada, US
Topics: business, finance
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A brokerage company with a telegraph line, telephone line, or electronic communication network.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Canada, US, obsolete
Topics: business, finance
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
1904, wire + house (“company”), from earlier private-wire house (1894). Originally referred to brokerage companies that owned or leased telegraph lines, so that market information could be transmitted more quickly. Later generalized to “major brokerage”. Wirehouses are now defined by that they have a direct access to "Fed-Fund Wires", which is the system in which all banks and only the big brokerage houses can "wire" money directly from one account to another. Smaller brokerage firms do not have their own wire line, but need to send transactions by transmitting them through a bank's wire system.
