n.
- an institution providing medical and surgical treatment and nursing care for sick or injured people.
- historical a hospice, especially one run by the Knights Hospitaller.
Derivative
- hospitalization
or hospitalisation n. - hospitalize
or hospitalise v.
Etymology
ME: via OFr. from med. L. hospitale, neut. of L. hospitalis ‘hospitable’, from hospes, hospit- (see host1).