Xenodochiums

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A historical term for lodgings or accommodations specifically for travelers and strangers
2. a type of hospitable establishment offering shelter to guests or wayfarers
3. referring to places built to provide refuge and hospitality for those in need of temporary lodging

Etymology: "Xenodochiums" is simply the plural of "xenodochium," so it names more than one such establishment. The singular comes from Ancient Greek "xenodokheion," meaning "place for strangers" or "inn," built from "xenos," "guest, stranger, foreigner," and "dekhomai," "receive, accept." Put together, the parts describe a place whose whole purpose is taking in people who arrive from elsewhere. The Greek word passed into Latin as "xenodochium," which in medieval Latin usage denoted a hostel for travellers, often run by religious communities. The English term is a direct borrowing from that Latin form, so it kept the older sense of a shelter for strangers rather than a commercial inn.