English
hospital
Hospital comes from Old French hospital, from Late Latin hospitālis ‘guesthouse’, from Latin hospitālis ‘hospitable’, from hospes ‘host, guest’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰóstipotis1‘lord, master’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hostipotis1‘host’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhospes1‘host, guest’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhospitālis1‘hospitable’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEhospitālis1‘hospice, guesthouse’noun use of hospitālis
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400hospital1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hospital1‘a hostel or guesthouse’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590hospital1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English hospital
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book II, Canto IX: “[…] they spide a goodly castle, plast / Foreby…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰóstipotisWiktionary, English hospital‘lord, master’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hostipotisWiktionary, English hospital‘host’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhospesWiktionary, English hospital‘host, guest’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhospitālisWiktionary, English hospital‘hospitable’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEhospitālisWiktionary, English hospital‘hospice, guesthouse’noun use of hospitālis
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400hospitalWiktionary, English hospital
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hospitalWiktionary, English hospital‘a hostel or guesthouse’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590hospitalWiktionary, English hospital. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book II, Canto IX: “[…] they spide a goodly castle, plast / Foreby…”
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with hospital, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Italic *hostipotis ‘host’
30 more relatives in the full family tree
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Today it means
noun A large medical facility, usually in a building with multiple floors, where seriously ill or injured patients are given extensive medical or surgical treatment.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “hospital”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʰóstipotis / hospital