1. An institution that provides medical, surgical, or psychiatric care and treatment for the sick or the injured.
2. Chiefly British. A charitable institution, such as an orphanage or a home for the elderly.
3. A repair shop for specified items: a doll hospital.
4. Archaic. A hospice for travelers or pilgrims.

[Middle English, hospice, from Old French ospital, from Medieval Latin hospitāle, from neuter of Latin hospitālis, of a guest, from hospes, hospit-, guest.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.