military hotel

noun

A restaurant serving non-vegetarian food.

First used mid-20th c.
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Meanings

nounmilitary hotel (plural military hotels)

plural military hotels

  1. IndiaSouthA restaurant serving non-vegetarian food.First known use mid-20th c.

    11 Gajendra Vilas Hindu Military Hotel, Alps Restaurant, Mount Road.

    1954, Large Industrial Establishments in India, Indian Labour Bureau, page 455
    2 more examples

    Mutton or chicken curries and various other non-vegetarian dishes are served in the Moslem restaurants and in those labelled in English "Military Hotel."

    1962, Jean Filliozat, India: The Country and Its Traditions

    The Star of India, as the board outside proclaimed, was a "military hotel"; in other words, it served meat, which my grandmother did not. "I am thinking you might be missing it," Charlis said, ushering me to a chair.

    2011 October 18, Shashi Tharoor, India: From Midnight to the Millennium and Beyond, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN

Origin

Shortened from earlier Hindu military hotel, named so because they originally catered to Hindu non-vegetarians of the military. Piecewise doublet of military hospital.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

military hotel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/military%20hotel

MLA

“military hotel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/military%20hotel. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “military hotel,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/military%20hotel.

Source: military hotel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.