hospitare

Hospitare is a Latin verb meaning to entertain guests, to host, or to lodge someone. In classical Latin the verb denotes hosting or providing hospitality, often within a household or a lodging context. The related noun hospitium denotes lodging or hospitality, and hospes refers to a host or guest. The form is the source of several modern terms linked to hospitality and to places of lodging.

Origin and cognates: The root hospit- lies at the heart of a family of words associated with hospitality and lodging. From Latin it spread into Romance languages with varying spellings: Italian ospitare; Spanish and Portuguese hospedar; Romanian a ospita. In English, the root survives in hospitality, hospitable, and hospital, the latter via French hôpital from the same Latin family. The medieval and later development of these terms reflects shifts between Latin and the vernacular languages of Europe.

Usage and note: In Latin texts, hospitare appears as a regular verb for hosting guests. In modern Romance languages the corresponding verbs are common for arranging lodging or hosting events. In English-language scholarship, the Latin form is mainly encountered in philological discussion, while everyday usage favors the language-specific spellings, such as ospitare in Italian or hospedar in Spanish and Portuguese. The etymological link to hospitality and lodging remains evident across these languages, underscoring the shared semantic core of hosting and care for guests.