Spitalfields
district east of London, famed by early 19c. for the refugee Huguenot weavers who took up residence there; named for St. Mary Spital, from spital, a Middle English shortened form of hospital (q.v.) attested by late 12c. in names, sometimes also spittle, hence spittle-man "one who lives in a hospital;" spytel-house "hospital building."
Entries linking to Spitalfields
mid-13c., "shelter for the needy," from Old French hospital, ospital "hostel, shelter, lodging" (Modern French hôpital), from Late Latin hospitale "guest-house, inn," noun use of neuter of Latin adjective hospitalis "of a guest or host" (as a noun, "a guest; the duties of hospitality"), from hospes (genitive hospitis) "guest; host;" see host (n.1).
The sense of "charitable institution to house and maintain the needy" in English is from early 15c.; the meaning "institution for sick or wounded people" is recorded by 1540s. The same word, contracted, is hostel and hotel. The sense shift in Latin from duties to buildings might have been via the common term cubiculum hospitalis "guest-chamber." The Latin adjective use continued in Old French, where ospital also could mean "hospitable" and ospitalite could mean "hospital."
Trends of Spitalfields
More to Explore
updated on May 08, 2023
Dictionary entries near Spitalfields
spirochete
Spirogyra
spirometer
spissitude
spit
Spitalfields
spitball
spite
spiteful
spitfire
spitting image