hostry

H4O1S1T1R1Y4
/ˈhəʊstɹi/

noun

A hostelry.

First used 14th–18th c.Scrabble 12

Meanings

nounhostry (plural hostries)

plural hostries

  1. obsoleteA hostelry.First known use 14th–18th c.

    And wrapped hym in ſwadlynge cloothes / and layed hym in a manger / be cauſe there was no roume for them with in / in the hoſtrey.

    1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Luke ij:[7], folio lxxiiij, verso
    1 more example

    I ſeeing that, tooke him by the legge, and neuer reſted pulling, till I had pull’d me his legge quite off, and now tis at home in mine hoſtrey.

    1589–1592 (date written), Ch[ristopher] Mar[lowe], The Tragicall Historie of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus. […], London: […] Iohn Wright, […], published 1616 (1631 reprint), →OCLC, page [54]
  2. obsoleteA stable for horses.

    An Hoſtry now for Waggons;

    1697, Virgil, “The Third Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 112

Origin

  1. Old Frenchhosterie
  2. Englishhostry

From Old French hosterie, from hoste (“host”). Doublet of osteria.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

hostry. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hostry

MLA

“hostry.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hostry. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hostry,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hostry.

Source: hostry on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.