inn English · revision 10231

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1000|origins=gem-pro *inna}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɪn/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|ang|inn|t=lodging, dwelling, house]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) probably from the adverb inne, inside, within (see [[in]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) so that an inn is a place one stays in.^(Cresswell 2021) It is cognate with Old Norse inni, a dwelling, refuge.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A dwelling, abode or lodging: about 1000, in Ælfric.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A public house for eating or lodging is perhaps by about 1200 (Barnhart says probably before 1200),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and certainly by about 1400, when the OED first records a house for lodging and entertaining travellers.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Medieval translators used it for Latin hospitium, a residence for students,^(Cresswell 2021)^(NODE 1998) attested in Anglo-Latin from the early 13th century and surviving in the ''Inns of Court'' (mid-15th century), the buildings of the four legal societies of London.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) Trench notes that the word always meant a lodging, a place one turns in to, but became restricted to one that gives food and shelter for payment.^(Trench 1859) The verb, to lodge, is from Old English and now rare.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – a dwelling.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1200 – a public house (perhaps).^(Etymonline)

+ * early 13th century – a students' residence (Anglo-Latin).^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1400 – a house for travellers.^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-15th century – Inns of Court.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[pub]] or small [[hotel]] that offers food, drink and lodging to travellers.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A tavern or restaurant.^(AHD)

+ # ''(historical)'' A residence for students, especially of law, in London, now only in names such as the Inns of Court.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[innless]]

+ * [[inmate]]

+ * [[innholder]]

+ * [[innkeeper]]

+ * [[motor inn]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[in]]

+ * [[inner]]

+ * [[hospice]]

+ * [[hostel]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Scots dialect, inns, in the plural, meant a dwelling.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}