Hospital (noun) refers to a facility where people receive medical treatment and care. It also denotes the organized system and staff that operate such facilities. In everyday use, it typically implies a place equipped for medical diagnosis, treatment, and emergency services, and is often linked to patient admission and clinical care. The term can also appear in broader phrases like “the hospital.”
"The patient was taken to the hospital after the accident."
"My sister works at a hospital in the city."
"We visited the hospital to pick up her medical records."
"During the night, the hospital staff provided round-the-clock care."
Hospital comes from the Old French hospital, which in turn derives from the Latin hospitālis, meaning “pertaining to guests or strangers.” The root hospes/hospit- denotes visitor or host, indicating a place that receives guests. In medieval times, hospitium referred to hospitality or lodging for travelers, pilgrims, and sick or poor people. By the 14th–15th centuries, English adopted hospital in the sense of a charitable or religious establishment that provided care for the sick, and later evolved to its modern sense of a medical facility. The pronunciation and spelling stabilized in Early Modern English, with the final -al suffix reflecting Latin influence. The word’s semantic shift from hospitality to a dedicated care institution reflects the social evolution of organized medical care and charitable institutions in Europe, and later globally as hospitals became central to modern medicine. First known use in English dates to medieval manuscripts, with evolving meanings tied to hospitable care and the lodging of guests that later narrowed to medical care settings as science advanced.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "hospital" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "hospital" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "hospital"
-tle sounds
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You say /ˈhɒspɪtəl/ in UK English and /ˈhɑːspɪtəl/ in many US varieties; some US speakers reduce the first vowel to /ɑ/ and the second vowel to a short /ɪ/ in casual speech. The primary stress is on the first syllable. Mouth position: start with a rounded, open jaw for /h/ and /ɒ/ (UK) or /ɑː/ (US), then tighten lips for /p/ followed by a short /ɪ/ and finally a light /t/ with a schwa /əl/ ending. Listen for a clear, crisp /t/ before the final /əl/ in careful speech.
Common errors: misplacing stress (saying ha-SPI-tal), mispronouncing the first vowel as /æ/ or /ɜː/, or dropping the final /l/ or turning it into a syllabic /əl/. Correction: emphasize the first syllable with /ˈhɒ/ or /ˈhɑː/ depending on dialect, keep the middle /pɪ/ light and short, and finish with a clear /təl/ or /təl̩/ without swallowing the /l/. Practice elongated first syllable then quick, clean final consonant cluster.
US tends toward /ˈhɑːspɪtə/ or /ˈhɒspɪtl/ with rhoticity affecting the /r/ absence; UK typically /ˈhɒspɪt(ə)l/ with non-rhoticity and a clearer /l/ at the end; Australian often /ˈhɒspɪtəɫ/ with broad vowels in /ɒ/ and some vowel shortening in connected speech. In careful American speech you may hear /ˈhɑːspɪtəl/ with a full /t/ followed by a schwa, while some UK speakers produce a more pronounced /t/ and final /l/.
Key challenges: the sequence /ˈhɒsp-/ or /ˈhɑːsp-/ moves quickly into a short /ɪ/ before a voiceless /t/ and a light /əl/. The final syllable reduces to /təl/ sometimes sounding like /t(ə)l/, and the contrast between a breathy /h/ with a breathy onset can blur with preceding vowels in fast speech. Mastery requires precise tongue position for /ɒ/ or /ɑː/, rapid but clear /p/ release, and stable /t/ plus a crisp /l/.
The word often triggers a subtle vowel reduction in English learners’ speech: the middle /ɪ/ tends to be shorter and less prominent when spoken quickly, and the final /əl/ can blend toward a soft /əl/ or /l̩/. In careful speech, maintain a distinct /ɪ/ before the /t/ and ensure the /l/ remains pronounced rather than swallowed by the vowel.
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