hostel

Etymology

From Middle English hostel, from Old French hostel, ostel, from Late Latin hospitale (“hospice”), from Classical Latin hospitalis (“hospitable”) itself from hospes (“host”) + -alis (“-al”). Doublet of hotel and hospital. Obsolete from the 16th to 18th centuries, until it was revived by Walter Scott.

noun

1. A commercial overnight lodging place, with dormitory accommodation and shared facilities, especially a youth hostel.
   A rundown hostel
2. (not US) A temporary refuge for the homeless providing a bed and sometimes food.
3. (obsolete) A small, unendowed college in Oxford or Cambridge.

verb

1. (intransitive) To stay in a hostel during one's travels.
2. (transitive) To lodge (a person) in a hostel.