Hotel and Hospital Are the Same Word
A hotel provides lodging for travellers. It shares a root with hospital, hostel and hospice, all from a word for a host.
A hotel is an establishment providing lodging and meals for travellers. *Hotel*, *hostel*, *hospital*, *hospice* and *hostelry* are all one Latin word taking different routes: *hospitale*, a place for guests. Medieval hospitals were lodging houses for pilgrims that gradually specialised in the sick, so a hospital started as a hotel and not the reverse. In French, *Hôtel de Ville* means the town hall, keeping the older sense of a large public building.
- A lodging establishment. *A seaside hotel.*
- Hostel — cheaper shared lodging. *A youth hostel.*
- Hospice — care for the dying. *A hospice.*
- Hospital — from the same root. *A hospital.*
- Hôtel de Ville — a town hall. *The Hôtel de Ville.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | hotel | A small hotel. |
| Plural | hotels | Two hotels. |
| Related | hostel | A hostel. |
| Related | hospice | A hospice. |
| Latin | hospitale | A guest house. |
- We stayed at a hotel near the station.Lodging.
- Medieval hospitals lodged pilgrims.History.
- Hôtel de Ville means town hall.French.
The hospitale family
- Hotel — modern French, with the s lost to a circumflex
- Hostel — the older French form, s retained
- Hospital — kept the Latin spelling
- Hospice — a house of rest, now for the dying
- Hostelry — an old word for an inn
French *hôtel*, from Old French *hostel*, from Medieval Latin *hospitale*, a guest house, from *hospes*, a host or guest.
Are hotel and hospital the same word?
Yes, from the same Latin root meaning a place for guests. Hospitals were originally lodging houses for pilgrims.
Why does hôtel have a circumflex?
It marks an s that dropped out of the older spelling hostel, which English kept as a separate word.