Hostries

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Archaic places offering food and lodging to travelers, once common along old roads and in towns
2. Old-fashioned establishments where weary wayfarers could rest, eat and sleep for a night or two
3. Obsolete term for inns or guesthouses that provided refreshment and accommodation to passing guests

Etymology: "Hostries" is the plural of "hostry," an old English noun for an inn or lodging house. The singular comes from Old French "hosterie," which itself grew from "hoste," the Old French ancestor of the English "host" in the sense of someone who receives and lodges a guest. So the word carries the same idea of hospitality that runs through "host" and "hostel," with the French suffix marking a place where that hospitality was offered. A nice twist is that "hostry" and the Italian "osteria," a small tavern serving wine and simple food, are doublets: two words that split from the same ancestor and took different paths into their languages. One entered English through French, and the other entered Italian in its own way, so they look alike while sharing a root.