Hostel

How to spell hostel

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce hostel

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does hostel mean?

1. nounAn inexpensive lodging that offers shared sleeping rooms and communal facilities, often used by travellers or students.

Hostel in a sentence

• The backpackers booked a bed in a cheap hostel near the train station.

• The youth hostel charged a small fee for a bunk and breakfast.

Where does hostel come from?

Language of origin: French

This word came into English in the 1200s from Old French hostel, meaning a lodging place or large house where guests were received. The Old French form descended from the Medieval Latin hospitale, a 'guest-house' or 'place of shelter', which was built on the Latin hospes, meaning 'guest' or 'host'. Over the centuries the same root branched into several familiar relatives: 'hospital' kept the older Latin spelling, 'hotel' arrived later as a smoother French version, and 'hostel' preserved the older 's' that French itself eventually dropped. That surviving 's' is the spelling clue worth remembering, since it ties hostel directly back to hospital and hospitality. Modern usage narrowed the meaning to cheap, shared lodging, especially for travellers and students, but the underlying idea of sheltering a guest has stayed constant.

How the word is built

• hostel (lodging, from Latin hospitale: guest-house), a doublet of hotel and hospital