hospitality

English

Etymology

From Middle English hospitalite, from Old French hospitalité (modern French hospitalité), from Latin hospitālitās (“hospitality”), from hospitālis (“hospitable”), from hospes (“guest", "host”). Displaced native Old English cumlīþnes (literally “guest gentleness”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /hɑs.pɪˈtæl.ɪ.ti/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /hɒs.pɪˈtæl.ɪ.ti/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ælɪti

Noun

hospitality (countable and uncountable, plural hospitalities)

1. The act or service of welcoming, receiving, hosting, or entertaining guests; an appropriate attitude of openness, respect, and generosity toward guests.

   Synonym: guestfriendship

   Antonym: inhospitality

   Please thank our hosts for their hospitality during the week that we stayed.

   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XLII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 350:

     "Quarrels!" said Charles; "do not use so disagreeable a word. I am thinking of nothing but the thanks I owe Lord Avonleigh for his hospitality"—Lord Avonleigh bent to the very edge of the table—"and the favours I am about to ask."

   • 1708, [Jonathan Swift], “The Metamorphosis of Baucis and Philemon, Burlesqu’d; from the 8th Book of Ovid”, in Baucis and Philemon; a Poem. […], London: […] H. Hills, […], published 1709, →OCLC, page 3:

     In Ancient Times, as Story tells, / The Saints would often leave their Cells, / And ſtrole about, but hide their Quality, / To try good Peoples Hoſpitality.

   • 1864 May – 1865 November, Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1865, →OCLC:

     Mr Venus, reminded of the duties of hospitality, produced some rum.

2. (business) The business of providing catering, lodging and entertainment service; the industry which includes the operation of hotels, restaurants, and similar enterprises.

   After graduating from college, she found a job in hospitality.

3. The food, drink, and entertainment given to customers by a company or organization or provided to visitors by a private host.

Derived terms

• corporate hospitality
• hospitality box
• Irish hospitality
• Southern hospitality

 

Related terms

• host
• hospital
• hospitable

Translations

act or service of welcoming, receiving, hosting, or entertaining guests

• Arabic: كَرَم (ar) m (karam), إِكْرَام m (ʔikrām), ضِيَافَة f (ḍiyāfa), قِرًى m (qiran)
• Armenian: հյուրընկալություն (hy) (hyurənkalutʻyun), հյուրասիրություն (hy) (hyurasirutʻyun)
• Azerbaijani: qonaqsevərlik
• Belarusian: гасці́ннасць f (hascínnascʹ), гасьці́ннасьць f (hasʹcínnasʹcʹ)
• Bulgarian: гостоприе́мство (bg) n (gostopriémstvo)
• Burmese: ဧည့်ဝတ် (my) (e-ny.wat)
• Catalan: hospitalitat f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 好客 (zh) (hàokè), 款待 (zh) (kuǎndài), 招待 (zh) (zhāodài)

• Czech: pohostinnost f
• Danish: gæstfrihed c
• Dutch: gastvrijheid (nl) f
• Esperanto: gastameco, gastamo
• Estonian: külalislahkus
• Finnish: vieraanvaraisuus (fi)
• French: hospitalité (fr) f
• Galician: hospitalidade (gl) f
• Georgian: სტუმართმოყვარეობა (sṭumartmoq̇vareoba)
• German: Gastfreundlichkeit (de) f, Gastfreundschaft (de) f, Gastlichkeit (de) f
• Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐍃𐍄𐌹𐌲𐍉𐌳𐌴𐌹 f (gastigōdei)
• Greek: φιλοξενία (el) f (filoxenía)

  Ancient: φιλοξενία f (philoxenía), ξενῐ́ᾱ f (xeníā)

• Hebrew: הַכְנָסַת אוֹרְחִים f (hachnasát orḥím)
• Hindi: आतिथ्य (hi) m (ātithya), मेहमाननवाज़ी f (mehmānnavāzī), मेहमानी (hi) f (mehmānī), मेहमानदारी (hi) f (mehmāndārī)
• Hungarian: vendégszeretet (hu)
• Irish: fáilte f, cóir f, gart m (literary)
• Italian: ospitalità (it) f
• Japanese: 款待 (ja) (かんたい, kantai), 持て成し (ja) (もてなし, motenashi), 厚情 (ja) (こうじょう, kōjō)
• Kazakh: қонақжайлылық (qonaqjailylyq), мейманшылық (meimanşylyq)
• Korean: 환대(歡待) (ko) (hwandae)
• Kyrgyz: меймандостук (meymandostuk)
• Latin: hospitālitās f, hospitium n
• Latvian: viesmīlība f
• Lithuanian: svetingumas m
• Macedonian: гостопримство n (gostoprimstvo), гостољубивост n (gostoljubivost), гостољубие n (gostoljubie)
• Maori: taurima, manaaki, manaakitanga (mi)
• Maranao: sakasakaw
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: зочлон хүндлэх явдал (zočlon xündlex javdal)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: gjestfrihet (no) m or f

• Old English: cumlīþnes, ġiestlīþnes
• Persian: مهمان‌نوازی (mehmân-navâzi)
• Polish: gościnność (pl) f
• Portuguese: hospitalidade (pt) f
• Romanian: ospitalitate (ro) f
• Russian: гостеприи́мство (ru) n (gostepriímstvo), раду́шие (ru) n (radúšije), хлебосо́льство (ru) n (xlebosólʹstvo) (metaphorical)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: гостољу̀биво̄ст f, гостопри́мство n, госто̀љӯбље n

  Roman: gostoljùbivōst (sh) f, gostoprímstvo (sh) n, gostòljūblje (sh) n

• Slovak: pohostinnosť f
• Slovene: gostoljubje n
• Spanish: hospitalidad (es) f
• Swedish: gästfrihet (sv) c
• Tagalog: mabuting pakikitungo
• Tajik: меҳмоннавозӣ (mehmonnavozi)
• Tatar: кунакчыллык (tt) (qunaqçıllıq)
• Telugu: అతిథిసత్కారము (te) (atithisatkāramu)
• Turkish: konukseverlik, mihmandarlık (tr), misafirperverlik (tr)
• Turkmen: myhmansöýerlik
• Ukrainian: гости́нність f (hostýnnistʹ)
• Urdu: مہمان نوازی f (mehmān-navāzī)
• Uzbek: mehmondoʻstlik (uz)
• Vietnamese: lòng mến khách
• Yiddish: הכנסת־אורחים f (hakhnoses-orkhim), גאַסטפֿרײַנדלעכקײַט f (gastfrayndlekhkayt)

business of providing catering, lodging and entertainment service

• Arabic: ضِيَافَة f (ḍiyāfa)
• Armenian: սպասարկում (hy) (spasarkum)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: pohostinství n
• Danish: service (da) c
• Dutch: horeca (nl) m
• Finnish: hotelli- ja ravintola-ala
• French: (singular only) hôtellerie-restauration (fr) f
• Georgian: სასტუმრო ინდუსტრია (sasṭumro indusṭria), მომსახურება (momsaxureba)
• German: Gastgewerbe n
• Hebrew: אירוח m (erúakh)
• Hindi: मेहमानदारी (hi) f (mehmāndārī)
• Hungarian: vendéglátás (hu)
• Irish: aíocht f, fáilteachas m
• Italian: please add this translation if you can
• Japanese: ホスピタリティー (hosupitaritī), 集客 (ja) (しゅうきゃく, shūkyaku)
• Korean: 호스피탤리티 (hoseupitaelliti), 환대산업(歡待産業) (hwandaesaneop)
• Latin: please add this translation if you can
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Maori: please add this translation if you can
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: gjestfrihet (no) m or f

• Persian: please add this translation if you can
• Polish: obsługa (pl) f, obsługiwanie (pl) n
• Portuguese: hotelaria (pt) f
• Russian: обслу́живание (ru) n (obslúživanije), гости́ничный би́знес m (gostíničnyj bíznɛs), хоспита́лити n (xospitáliti)
• Spanish: hostelería (es) f
• Swedish: gästgiveri (sv) n, service (sv) c
• Turkish: konukseverlik, mihmandarlık (tr), misafirperverlik (tr)
• Ukrainian: обслуго́вування (uk) n (obsluhóvuvannja)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Faroese: ^{(please verify)} gestablídni n, gestablíðskapur m
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} ospitalità (it) f
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ^{(please verify)} میوانداری (mîwandarî)

• Latin: ^{(please verify)} hospitālitās
• Mongolian: ^{(please verify)} зочломтгой зан (zočlomtgoj zan), найрсаг зан (najrsag zan)
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} gostoprimstvo (sh)
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} ఆతిథ్యం (ātithyaṁ)

Further reading

• “hospitality”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “hospitality”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• hospitality in MacMillan Dictionary (Macmillan Education Limited 2009–2020)