hospice

[hos-pis]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hospice ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a house of shelter or rest for pilgrims, strangers, etc., especially one kept by a religious order.

Medicine/Medical.

a health-care facility for the terminally ill that emphasizes pain control and emotional support for the patient and family, typically refraining from taking extraordinary measures to prolong life.
a similar program of care and support for the terminally ill at home.

Origin of hospice

1810–20; < French < Latin hospitium hospitium

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hospice

Contemporary Examples of hospice

The next evening, Romero was saying mass in the chapel at the hospice where he lived in a tiny room near the infirm and the dying.
Why Pope Francis Wants to Declare Murdered Archbishop Romero a Saint
Christopher Dickey
August 24, 2014
Thomas J. Foley died Friday in hospice care in Washington at age 84.
The Speaker Who Spoke for the Whole House
Eleanor Clift
October 18, 2013
He has also demonstrated compassion for AIDS victims, washing and kissing the feet of 12 patients in a hospice in 2001.
Introducing Pope Francis, Your New Papa
Eliza Shapiro, Lizzie Crocker
March 14, 2013
The list also includes 14 hospitals, 14 assaults in schools, and even a hospice for the dying.
Jimmy Savile Report: BBC Presenter Sexually Abused More Than 200 Minors
Peter Jukes
January 11, 2013
When I was first called and told that George McGovern was in hospice care, I was overwhelmed with sadness.
Robert Shrum on Friend George McGovern, the Prophet Politician
Robert Shrum
October 22, 2012

Historical Examples of hospice

M. Julien, will you run for the doctor, and send him down to the Hospice at once?
Chatterbox, 1906
Various
I found him at the hospice, busy with his œuvre de bienfaisance.
Behind the Beyond
Stephen Leacock
He, himself, was billeted with a French family, just around the corner from the Hospice.
Life in a Tank
Richard Haigh
The hospice had formerly been a palstra or wrestling-ground.
The Death of the Gods
Dmitri Mrejkowski
In June, 1861, her simple funeral passed from the gates of the Hospice.
Female Warriors, Vol. II (of 2)
Ellen C. Clayton

British Dictionary definitions for hospice

hospice

noun plural hospices

a nursing home that specializes in caring for the terminally ill

Also called: hospitium (hɒˈspɪtɪəm) plural hospitia (hɒˈspɪtɪə) archaic a place of shelter for travellers, esp one kept by a monastic order

Word Origin for hospice

C19: from French, from Latin hospitium hospitality, from hospes guest, host 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for hospice

1818, "rest house for travelers," from French hospice (13c.), from Latin hospitium "guest house, hospitality," from hospes (genitive hospitis) "guest, host" (see host (n.1)). Sense of "home for the aged and terminally ill " is from 1893; hospice movement first attested 1979.

Medicine definitions for hospice

hospice

[hŏs′pĭs]

n.

A program or facility that provides palliative care and attends to the emotional, spiritual, social, and financial needs of terminally ill patients at a facility or at a patient's home.