hosto

• Audio:

  (file)

hosto ?

1. (informal) leaf

• hosteau, hostau, hôsto (less common or dated spellings)

Borrowed from a regional language of France, ultimately from Latin hospitālis. Doublet of hôtel.

First documented as soldiers' slang in 1915. The army provided an environment ripe for this sort of borrowing, as it had brought together conscripts from across the country.

The spelling with ⟨eau⟩ is original. Modern speakers prefer ⟨o⟩ as the word has effectively been 'adopted' as the o-clipping of hôpital.

• IPA^(key): /ɔs.to/

hosto m (plural hostos) (informal)

1. hospital

   Il a été transporté d’urgence à l’hosto. ― He was rushed to (the) hospital.

2. (dated) lodging
3. (dated) abode

• Sainean, Laizare. 1915. L'argot des tranchées d'après les lettres des poilus et les journaux du front. Paris: Éditions de Boccard. Page 149.

• “hosto”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

hósto

1. accusative/instrumental singular of họ̑sta