inn | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

54 entries found.

Old English inn "lodging, dwelling, house," probably from inne (adv.) "inside, within" (see in). Meaning "public house with lodging" is perhaps by c. 1200, certainly by c. 1400. Meaning "lodging house or residence for students" is attested from early 13c. in Anglo-Latin, now obsolete except in names of buildings that were so used (such as Inns of Court, mid-15c.).

innkeeper (n.)

1540s, from inn + keeper.

inning (n.)

Old English innung "a taking in, a putting in," gerundive of innian "get within, put or bring in; lodge; include; fill up, restore," from inn (adv.) "in" (see in). Meaning "a team's turn in action in a game" first recorded 1735, usually plural in cricket, singular in baseball.

hostel (n.)

early 13c., "inn, house of entertainment," from Old French ostel, hostel "house, home, dwelling; inn, lodgings, shelter" (11c., Modern French hôtel), from Medieval Latin hospitale "inn; large house" (see hospital). Obsolete after 16c., revived 1808, along with hostelry by Sir Walter Scott. Youth hostel is recorded by 1931.

hostler (n.)

formerly also hosteler, late 14c., "one who tends to horses at an inn," also, occasionally, "innkeeper," from Anglo-French hostiler, Old French ostelier, hostelier "innkeeper; steward in a monastery" (12c., Modern French hôtelier), from Medieval Latin hostilarius "the monk who entertains guests at a monastery," from hospitale "inn" (see hospital). Compare ostler.

caravanserai (n.)

1590s, carvanzara, "Eastern inn (with a large central court) catering to caravans," ultimately from Persian karwan-sarai, from karwan (see caravan) + sara'i "palace, mansion; inn," from Iranian base *thraya- "to protect" (from PIE root *tere- (2) "cross over, pass through, overcome").

ostler (n.)

"stableman at an inn," late 14c., phonetic spelling of hostler (q.v.). Related: Ostleress.

posada (n.)

"inn," 1763, from Spanish posada "home, lodging," from posar "to repose, rest, lodge," from Medieval Latin pausare "to halt, cease, pause; to lodge," from pausa (see pause (n.)).

roadhouse (n.)

"inn by a roadside," 1857, later "place for refreshment and entertainment along a road" (1922), from road (n.) + house (n.).

post-horse (n.)

horse kept at an inn, post house, or other station for use by mail carriers or for rent to travelers, 1520s, from post (n.3) "communication from one place to another by relays" + horse (n.).

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