/ həʊˈtel; NAmE hoʊ-/ noun
1.
a building where people stay, usually for a short time, paying for their rooms and meals :
We stayed at / in a hotel.
hotel rooms / guests
a two-star / five-star, etc. hotel
a luxury hotel
a friendly, family-run hotel
2.
( AustralE , NZE ) a pub
3.
( IndE ) a restaurant
HELP NOTE : Some speakers do not pronounce the 'h' at the beginning of hotel and use 'an' instead of 'a' before it. This now sounds old-fashioned.
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 18th cent.: from French hôtel , from Old French hostel , from medieval Latin hospitale , neuter of Latin hospitalis hospitable, from hospes , hospit- host, guest.