Hospitaller

noun

Hos·pi·tal·ler ˈhä-(ˌ)spi-tᵊl-ər

variants or Hospitaler

: a member of a religious military order established in Jerusalem in the 12th century

Examples of Hospitaller in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Such wisdom fills the pages of this immensely entertaining history, which is constructed around medieval guidebooks and travelogues, and highlights dazzling destinations like Constantinople and Rhodes under the Knights Hospitaller. —

The New Yorker, 12 June 2024 There’s a circa 1521 stone tomb from France with a coat of arms from the monastic-military Knights Hospitaller, Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. —

John Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English Hospiteler, Hospitaler, borrowed from Anglo-French Hospiteler, borrowed from Medieval Latin Hospitālārius, from Hospitāle, the Hospital of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem (from hospitāle "residence for pilgrims and travelers") + Latin -ārius -ary entry 1 — more at hospital

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of Hospitaller was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century