hospital

Etymology

From Middle English hospital, hospitall, from Old French hospital (Modern French hôpital), from Late Latin hospitālis, hospitāle (“hospice, shelter, guesthouse”), from noun use of Latin hospitālis (“hospitable”), from hospes (“host, guest”). Doublet of hotel and hostel. Displaced native Middle English lechehous, from Old English lǣċehūs (literally “doctor house”).

noun

1. A large medical facility, usually in a building with multiple floors, where seriously ill or injured patients are given extensive medical and/or surgical treatment.
   Luckily an ambulance arrived quickly and he was rushed to hospital. (UK)
   Luckily an ambulance arrived quickly and he was rushed to the hospital. (US)
   This section of the Act gives the court powers to assess whether treatment is going to be beneficial and hence whether hospital is a suitable disposal option. 2010, Sameer P. Sarkar, “Mental health law and the mentally disordered offender”, in Annie Bartlett, Gill McGauley, editors, Forensic Mental Health: Concepts, Systems, and Practice, Oxford University Press, section 3 (Law), page 265
2. A building founded for the long-term care of its residents, such as an almshouse. The residents may have no physical ailments, but simply need financial support.
3. (obsolete) A place of lodging.

adj

1. (obsolete) Hospitable.