Xenodochy
/ˈzɛnədəkɪ/noun
The practice or institution of providing hospitality to strangers, especially travelers or the sick.
Did you know?In late antiquity, xenodochia were charitable guesthouses and hospitals, often attached to churches or monasteries and supported as acts of religious mercy.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ǵʰs-en-os
“Stranger, foreigner, or guest; a proposed ancestral form connected with Greek xenos and Germanic guest-words.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ξένος (xénos)
“Stranger, foreigner, guest, or host in a reciprocal relationship.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
δοχή (dokhḗ)
“Reception, acceptance, or a place of receiving; derived from dékhesthai, “to receive.””
Late Greek
Greek
ξενodoχεῖον (xenodocheîon)
“An establishment for receiving strangers, including a guesthouse, hospice, or charitable institution.”
Medieval Greek
Greek
ξενodoχία (xenodokhía)
“Hospitality toward strangers or care provided in a xenodochium.”
17th Century
English
xenodochy
“The practice of showing hospitality to strangers; later also a place providing such hospitality.”
Modern English
English
xenodochy
“Hospitality or shelter offered to strangers, especially travelers or the sick.”