Etymology

motel

mo·tel
M3O1T1E1L1

Today it means: A type of hotel or lodging establishment, often located near a major highway, which typically features a series of rooms whose entrances are immediately adjacent to a parking lot to facilitate convenient access to parked automobiles. Full definition →

English hotel ← French hôte ← Middle French hostel
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*m(y)ewh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*m(y)owh₁éyeti
  3. Proto-Italic*moweō
  4. Latinmoveō
  5. Latinmōtor
  6. Middle Englishmotour
  7. Englishmotor
  8. Proto-Indo-European*gʰóstis
  9. Proto-Indo-European*pótis
  10. Proto-Indo-European*gʰóstipotis
  11. Proto-Italic*hostipotis
  12. Latinhospes
  13. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  14. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  15. Latinhospitālis
  16. Old Frenchostel
  17. Middle Frenchhostel
  18. Frenchhôte
  19. Englishhotel
  20. English todaymotel

Blend of motor + hotel, from the original Motel Inn of San Luis Obispo in California, United States, established in 1925 by Arthur Heineman (1878–1974).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.