Hotel

:This article discusses the residential establishment. For other uses of the term "hotel", see Hotel (disambiguation).

Origins of the term

The word hotel derives from the French hôtel, which originally referred to a French version of a townhouse, not a place offering accommodation (in contemporary usage, hôtel has the meaning of "hotel", and hôtel particulier is used for the old meaning). The French spelling (with the circumflex) was once also used in English, but is now rare. The circumflex replaces the 's' once preceding the 't' in the earlier hostel spelling, which over time received a new, but closely related meaning.

Related Topics:
French - Townhouse - Circumflex - Hostel

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