hospitality

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The act or service of welcoming, receiving, hosting, or entertaining guests; an appropriate attitude of openness, respect, and generosity toward guests.

   Please thank our hosts for their hospitality during the week that we stayed.

2. 2
   noun

   The business of providing catering, lodging and entertainment service; the industry which includes the operation of hotels, restaurants, and similar enterprises.

   After graduating from college, she found a job in hospitality.

3. 3
   noun

   kindness in welcoming guests or strangers

4. 4
   noun

   The food, drink, and entertainment given to customers by a company or organization or provided to visitors by a private host.

Etymology

From Middle English hospitalite, from Old French hospitalité (modern French hospitalité), from Latin hospitālitās (“hospitality”), from hospitālis (“hospitable”), from hospes (“guest", "host”). Displaced native Old English cumlīþnes (literally “guest gentleness”).