hotel Italian · revision 38307

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1813, Ugo Foscolo|origins=la hospes}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /oˈtɛl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''hotel''' ''m'' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|hôtel]], from [[fro|ostel|t=lodging, house]], recorded about 1050.^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary) The Old French word continues [[la-lat|hospitale|t=lodging for guests]], the neuter of [[la|hospitalis|alt=hospitālis|t=of guests]], which DELI and Sabatini–Coletti trace to a phrase “cubiculum hospitale”, “room for guests”.^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) The Latin adjective is formed on [[m|la|hospes|t=host; guest]].^(Wiktionary)^(OLD 2012)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ In French the word moved from “dwelling” to “private residence” and finally to “inn, hotel”.^(DELI 1999) The same Latin noun is the source of [[ospedale]] and of [[ostello]], which Old Italian took earlier from the Old French word.^(Wiktionary)^(REW 1935)^(DEI|1901) An Italianised spelling [[otello]] is also found.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ GRADIT and Nocentini date the word to 1813, in Ugo Foscolo's translation of Laurence Sterne's ''Sentimental Journey'':^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010) “Monsieur Dessein, padrone dell'hôtel, era a' vespri” (“Monsieur Dessein, the master of the hotel, was at vespers”).^(GDLI|Supplemento 2004) DELI's first record is 1883, and that of ''grand hotel'' 1890, in Emilio De Marchi.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Italian also took the French sense “private mansion” for a time;^(DELI 1999) DELI records it in 1860.^(DELI 1999) The word spread quickly but was resisted as a foreign word: under Fascism it was first taxed (1925) and then replaced by law with [[albergo]] (1940), as Cardinal Giacomo Antonelli had already tried to do in papal Rome before 1876.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|1901)

+

+ Today ''hotel'' is an everyday synonym of ''albergo'', common above all in the names of hotels.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) French compounds came in with it, such as ''hôtel garni'' or ''hotel meublé'', a hotel that offers rooms but no restaurant.^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020) In the Italian spelling alphabet ''Hotel'' stands for the letter H.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * About 1050 – Old French ''ostel'' is recorded.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1813 – Ugo Foscolo uses ''hôtel'' in his translation of Sterne.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1860 – The word is used for a private mansion.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1890 – Emilio De Marchi writes ''grand hotel''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1925 – The word is taxed as a foreign word.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1940 – Its replacement by ''albergo'' is made compulsory.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|hotel]]; an [[albergo]]: ''Abbiamo prenotato una camera in un hotel vicino alla stazione.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(spelling alphabet)'' The letter H.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ostello]]

+ * [[albergo]]

+ * [[ospedale]]

+ * [[ospite]]

+ * [[fr|hôtel]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Hotel diffuso'' is a hotel whose rooms are spread over several buildings in a village or old town centre, and ''hotel a ore'' a hotel that rents rooms by the hour.^(Devoto–Oli 2026) The word is pronounced /oˈtɛl/, without the ''h''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}