Thread: Question for British

A question for Brits here: What's hospice mean in British English? Can it mean student's dormitory?

Originally Posted by Pravit

A question for Brits here: What's hospice mean in British English? Can it mean student's dormitory?

Well I'm not a Brit but as I remember I've read in an "Англия" magazin as long ago as the end of 80's the hospice is a hospital for hopelessly diseased patients.

Yes, hospices are for the terminally ill. They provide a more comfortable, family-friendly environment than a hospital for those for whom medical intervention is now limited to the administering of pain-reducing drugs.

Aha. I, being a native English speaker, knew that hospices were for the terminally ill, but one of my Russian friends claimed that their dictionary gave hospice без тени сомнения as "students' dormitory." Of course, this is the same dictionary that was supposed to have said "I fail words to..." instead of "Words fail me to..."

Originally Posted by Pravit

Aha. I, being a native English speaker, knew that hospices were for the terminally ill, but one of my Russian friends claimed that their dictionary gave hospice без тени сомнения as "students' dormitory."

He was right. The English-Russian dicts give the "students' dormitory" as one of meaning.

He was right.

He may have been right, but the dictionary was wrong.

It may be that hospice has been confused with hostel.

Originally Posted by joysof

He was right.

He may have been right, but the dictionary was wrong.

Цитирую Lingvo:
hospice сущ.
1) гостиница (особ. монастырская); богадельня, приют The hospice provides 20 beds, soup, bread, and coals to families, and penny dinners to sandwich-men. — Приют рассчитан на 20 человек, для семей - полный пансион, для "живой рекламы" - дешевые обеды.
2) студенческое общежитие
3) хоспис, «дом упокоения», больница для безнадежных пациентов St. Christopher's Hospice has been planned to enable patients who are in the last stages of their illness to have a tranquil end. — Задумывалось, что в хосписе св. Хростофора неизлечимые больные будут иметь возможность спокойно умереть.
4) ист. странноприимный дом

Originally Posted by joysof

He was right.

He may have been right, but the dictionary was wrong.

Странно, и другой словарь то же самое выдает...
общежитие ср.
1) hostel, home; dormitory
студенческое общежитие — hospice

Цитирую Lingvo:
hospice сущ.
1) гостиница (особ. монастырская); богадельня, приют The hospice provides 20 beds, soup, bread, and coals to families, and penny dinners to sandwich-men. — Приют рассчитан на 20 человек, для семей - полный пансион, для "живой рекламы" - дешевые обеды.
2) студенческое общежитие
3) хоспис, «дом упокоения», больница для безнадежных пациентов St. Christopher's Hospice has been planned to enable patients who are in the last stages of their illness to have a tranquil end. — Задумывалось, что в хосписе св. Хростофора неизлечимые больные будут иметь возможность спокойно умереть.
4) ист. странноприимный дом

Let's try an English dictionary rather than an English-Russian one:

hospice n, pl hospices. 1 a nursing hone that specializes in caring for the terminally ill. 2 Also called: hospitium, pl . Archaic. a place of shelter kept for travellers, esp. one kept by a monastic order.

No students in sight .

Цитирую Lingvo:
hospice сущ.
1) гостиница (особ. монастырская); богадельня, приют The hospice provides 20 beds, soup, bread, and coals to families, and penny dinners to sandwich-men. — Приют рассчитан на 20 человек, для семей - полный пансион, для "живой рекламы" - дешевые обеды.
2) студенческое общежитие
3) хоспис, «дом упокоения», больница для безнадежных пациентов St. Christopher's Hospice has been planned to enable patients who are in the last stages of their illness to have a tranquil end. — Задумывалось, что в хосписе св. Хростофора неизлечимые больные будут иметь возможность спокойно умереть.
4) ист. странноприимный дом

The concise Oxford dictionary of current English.--8th ed (British)

hospice n. 1 Brit. a home for people who are ill (esp. terminally) or destitute. 2 a lodging for travellers, esp. one kept by a religious order. [F f. L hospitium (as HOST(2))]

Merriam-Webster online (American)

Main Entry: hos·pice
Pronunciation: 'h

I've never heard hospice used like that. A student dormitory type holiday place is called a "youth-hostel"

I've heard it used in that context, in fact 'hospice' is the first word to spring to mind when I think of a big room full of beds for students.

I've heard it used in that context, in fact 'hospice' is the first word to spring to mind when I think of a big room full of beds for students.

Really?

Yeah really, otherwise I wouldn't have said it

It must be stressed though, I've probably only had cause to name such an establishment two or three times in my life, and on no occassion was semantic accuracy a consideration

why is there a word for a room for students anyway?

why is there a word for a room for students anyway?

That's an odd question. Why is there a word for a place where sick people get medical treatment? Why are there any words at all? If grunting is good enough for the warthog...

I think a better question is, why isn't one word enough for a room for students? Dormitory, hostel, and now we add hospice to that list......

I mean why was there ever a need for such a word in the first place...where are these student rooms? I've never heard of them..

Hi!!!! What are you talk about????