Adjacent Words

Inn definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

INN, n. [Heb. To dwell or to pitch a tent.]
1. A house for the lodging and entertainment of travelers. In America, it is often a tavern, where liquors are furnished for travelers and others.
There was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2.
2. In England, a college of municipal or common law professors and students; formerly, the town-house of a nobleman, bishop or other distinguished personage, in which he resided when he attended the court.
Inns of court, colleges in which students of law reside and are instructed. The principal are the Inner Temple, the Middle Temple, Lincoln's Inn, and Gray's Inn.
Inns of chancery, colleges in which young students formerly began their law studies. These are now occupied chiefly by attorneys, solicitors, etc.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers [syn: hostel, hostelry, inn, lodge, auberge]

Merriam Webster's

geographical name river 320 miles (515 kilometers) flowing from SE Switzerland NE through Austria into the Danube in SE Germany — see Engadine

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old Norse inni dwelling, inn, Old English in, adverb Date: 12th century 1. a. an establishment for the lodging and entertaining of travelers b. tavern 2. a residence formerly provided for British students in London and especially for students of law II. intransitive verb Date: 14th century to put up at an inn

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a public house providing alcoholic liquor for consumption on the premises, and sometimes accommodation etc. 2 hist. a house providing accommodation, esp. for travellers. Phrases and idioms: Inn of Court Brit. Law 1 each of the four legal societies having the exclusive right of admitting people to the English bar. 2 any of the sets of buildings in London belonging to these societies. 3 a similar society in Ireland. Inns of Chancery Brit. hist. buildings in London formerly used as hostels for law students. Etymology: OE inn (as IN)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Inn Inn, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Inned; p. pr. & vb. n. Inning.] To take lodging; to lodge. [R.] --Addison.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Inn Inn, n. [AS. in, inn, house, chamber, inn, from AS. in in; akin to Icel. inni house. See In.] 1. A place of shelter; hence, dwelling; habitation; residence; abode. [Obs.] --Chaucer. Therefore with me ye may take up your inn For this same night. --Spenser. 2. A house for the lodging and entertainment of travelers or wayfarers; a tavern; a public house; a hotel. Note: As distinguished from a private boarding house, an inn is a house for the entertainment of all travelers of good conduct and means of payment,as guests for a brief period,not as lodgers or boarders by contract. The miserable fare and miserable lodgment of a provincial inn. --W. Irving. 3. The town residence of a nobleman or distinguished person; as, Leicester Inn. [Eng.] 4. One of the colleges (societies or buildings) in London, for students of the law barristers; as, the Inns of Court; the Inns of Chancery; Serjeants' Inns. Inns of chancery (Eng.), colleges in which young students formerly began their law studies, now occupied chiefly by attorneys, solicitors, etc. Inns of court (Eng.), the four societies of ``students and practicers of the law of England'' which in London exercise the exclusive right of admitting persons to practice at the bar; also, the buildings in which the law students and barristers have their chambers. They are the Inner Temple, the Middle Temple, Lincoln's Inn, and Gray's Inn.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Inn Inn, v. t. 1. To house; to lodge. [Obs.] When he had brought them into his city And inned them, everich at his degree. --Chaucer. 2. To get in; to in. See In, v. t.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(inns) An inn is a small hotel or pub, usually an old one. (OLD-FASHIONED) ...the Waterside Inn. N-COUNT; N-IN-NAMES

Easton's Bible Dictionary

in the modern sense, unknown in the East. The khans or caravanserais, which correspond to the European inn, are not alluded to in the Old Testament. The "inn" mentioned in Ex. 4:24 was just the halting-place of the caravan. In later times khans were erected for the accommodation of travellers. In Luke 2:7 the word there so rendered denotes a place for loosing the beasts of their burdens. It is rendered "guest-chamber" in Mark 14:14 and Luke 22:11. In Luke 10:34 the word so rendered is different. That inn had an "inn-keeper," who attended to the wants of travellers.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

(malon; pandocheion, kataluma):

1. Earliest Night Resting-Places:

The Hebrew word malon means literally, a "night resting-place," and might be applied to any spot where caravans (Ge 42:27; 43:21 the King James Version), individuals (Ex 4:24; Jer 9:2), or even armies (Jos 4:3,8; 2Ki 19:23; Isa 10:29) encamped for the night. In the slightly altered form melunah, the same word is used of a nightwatchman's lodge in a garden (Isa 1:8; 24:20, the King James Version "cottage"). The word in itself does not imply the presence of any building, and in the case of caravans and travelers was doubtless originally, as very often at the present day, only a convenient level bit of ground near some spring, where baggage might be unloaded, animals watered and tethered, and men rest on the bare ground. Nothing in the Old Testament suggests the occupancy of a house in such cases. The nearest approach to such an idea occurs in Jer 41:17 margin, where geruth kimham is translated "the lodging-place of Chimham," but the text is very doubtful and probably refers rather to sheepfolds. We cannot say when buildings were first used, but the need of shelter for caravans traveling in winter, and of protection in dangerous times and districts, would lead to their introduction at an early period in the history of trade.

2. Public Inns:

It is noteworthy that all the indisputable designations of "inn" come in with the Greek period. Josephus (Ant., XV, v, 1; BJ, I, xxi, 7) speaks of "Public inns" under the name of katagogal, while in the Aramaic Jewish writings we meet with 'ushpiza', from Latin hospitium, and 'akhcanya' from the Greek xenia; the New Testament designation pandocheion has passed into the Aramaic pundheqa' and the Arabic funduq. All these are used of public inns, and they all correspond to the modern "khan" or "caravanserai." These are to be found on the great trade routes all over the East. In their most elaborate form they have almost the strength of a fortress. They consist of a great quadrangle into which admission is gained through a broad, strong gateway. The quadrangle is enclosed on all sides by a 2-story building, the windows in the case of the lower story opening only to the interior. The upper story is reached by stairways, and has a gangway all around, giving access to the practically bare rooms which are at the disposal of travelers. 3. Their Evil Name:

There is usually a well of good water in the center of the quadrangle, and travelers as a rule bring their own food and often that of their animals (Jud 19:19) with them. There are no fixed payments, and on departure, the arranging of haqq el-khan generally means a disagreeable dispute, as the innkeepers are invariably untruthful, dishonest and oppressive. They have ever been regarded as of infamous character. The Roman laws in many places recognize this. In Mishna, Yebhamoth, xvi. 7 the word of an innkeeper was doubted, and Mishna, `Abbodhah Zarah, ii.4 places them in the lowest scale of degradation. The New Testament is quite clear in speaking of "Rahab the harlot" (Heb 11:31; Jas 2:25). The Targum designates her an "innkeeper," while Rashi translates zonah as "a seller of kinds of food," a meaning the word will bear. Chimchi, however, accepts both meanings. This evil repute of public inns, together with the Semitic spirit of hospitality, led the Jews and the early Christians to prefer to recommend the keeping of open house for the entertainment of strangers. In the Jewish Morning Prayers, even in our day, such action is linked with great promises, and the New Testament repeatedly (Heb 13:2; 1Pe 4:9; 3 Joh 1:5) commends hospitality. It is remarkable that both the Talmud (Shab 127a) and the New Testament (Heb 13:2) quote the same passage (Ge 18:3) in recommending it.

The best-known khans in Palestine are Khan Jubb-Yusuf, North of the Lake of Galilee, Khan et-Tujjar, under the shadow of Tabor, Khan el-Lubban (compare Jud 21:19), and Khan Chadrur, midway between Jerusalem and Jericho. This last certainly occupies the site of the inn referred to in Lu 10:34, and it is not without interest that we read in Mishna, Yebhamoth, xvi.7, of another sick man being left at that same inn. See illustration, p. 64.

4. Guest Chambers:

The Greek word kataluma, though implying a "loosing" for the night, seems rather to be connected with the idea of hospitality in a private house than in a public inn. Luke with his usual care distinguishes between this and pandocheion, and his use of the verb kataluo (Lu 9:12; 19:7) makes his meaning clear. In the Septuagint, indeed, malon is sometimes translated kataluma, and it appears in 1Sa 9:22 for lishkah, the King James Version "parlour." It is the word used of the "upper room" where the Last Supper was held (Mr 14:14; Lu 22:11, "guest-chamber"), and of the place of reception in Bethlehem where Joseph and Mary failed to find quarters (Lu 2:7). It thus corresponds to the spare or upper room in a private house or in a village, i.e. to the manzil adjoining the house of the sheikh, where travelers received hospitality and where no payment was expected, except a trifle to the caretaker. In Jerusalem such payments were made by leaving behind the earthenware vessels that had been used, and the skins of the animals that had been slaughtered (Yoma' 12a).

5. Birth of Christ:

Judging from the word used, and the conditions implied, we are led to believe that Joseph and Mary had at first expected reception in the upper room or manzil at the house of the sheikh of Bethlehem, probably a friend and member of the house of David; that in this they were disappointed, and had to content themselves with the next best, the elevated platform alongside the interior of the stable, and on which those having the care of the animals generally slept. It being now the season when they were in the fields (Lu 2:8), the stable would be empty and clean. There then the Lord Jesus was born and laid in the safest and most convenient place, the nearest empty manger alongside of this elevated platform. Humble though the circumstances were, the family were preserved from all the annoyance and evil associations of a public khan, and all the demands of delicacy and privacy were duly met.

W. M. Christie

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Tavern, hotel, cabaret, public-house, house of entertainment.

Moby Thesaurus

boardinghouse, dorm, dormitory, doss house, fleabag, flophouse, guest house, hospice, hostel, hostelry, hotel, lodge, lodging house, ordinary, pension, posada, pub, public, public house, roadhouse, rooming house, tavern