Guesthouse

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɡɛsthaʊs/

Definitions

1. A residence that provides simple lodging, usually in a domestic atmosphere, for individuals seeking temporary housing or vacation options
2. An accommodation facility that offers limited services and a more personal touch, catering to visitors looking for short-term stays
3. A small building or home offering temporary accommodation for visitors, often with a cozy, informal environment

Etymology: Old English speakers had a word for a building set aside for travellers long before "hotel" arrived from French. "Gæsthūs," literally "guest house," was in use by the Anglo-Saxon period, and its parts are as plain as they sound: "gæst" meant a visitor or stranger, and "hūs" meant a house or dwelling. The compound was a straightforward Germanic construction, built from native materials rather than borrowed from Latin or French. The word arrived in Middle English in several forms, such as "gest hous" and "gistenehus," and it developed alongside a Norse equivalent, "gesthús," which reinforced the same idea. Both traced back to a Proto-Germanic compound, "*gastihūsą," so English received the term from two related branches of the same family. The shared Germanic roots explain why the word feels so transparent to modern English speakers: it has barely changed its essential meaning in more than a thousand years.

Synonyms: inn, lodging, hostel, boarding house, bed and breakfast

Antonyms: mansion, palace, hotel