■ noun
1》 an establishment providing accommodation and meals for travellers and tourists.
↘ chiefly Austral./NZ a pub.
2》 a code word representing the letter H, used in radio communication.
Origin
C18: from Fr. hôtel , from OFr. hostel (see hostel ).
Usage
The normal pronunciation of ~ sounds the h- , which means that the preceding indefinite article is a . However, the older pronunciation without the h- is still sometimes heard, and gives rise to the preceding indefinite article being an . See also usage at an .