Doss A hassock stuffed with straw; a bed - properly, a straw bed; whence the cant word for a
lodging-house is a dossingken. Dossel is an old word for a bundle of hay or straw, and dosser for a straw
basket. These words were common in Elizabeth's reign. The French dossier means a "bundle."

Doss-house (A). A cheap lodging-house where the poorer classes sleep on bundles of straw. (See above.)
In the New Review (Aug., 1894) there is an article entitled "In a Woman's Doss-house," which throws
much light on the condition of the poor in London.