xenodochium
/ˌzɛn.əʊˈdəʊ.ki.əm/
xenodochium means A room (or separate guesthouse) in a monastery for the temporary accommodation of guests or pilgrims. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 89 out of 100.
xenodochium is pronounced /ˌzɛn.əʊˈdəʊ.ki.əm/.
Why “xenodochium” is a great word
XENODOCHIUM — [Noun] A room or guesthouse in a monastery for the temporary lodging of guests or pilgrims. From the Latin xenodochium, from the Ancient Greek ξενοδοχεῖον (xenodokheîon, "inn, place for strangers"), from ξένος (xénos, "guest, stranger") + δέχομαι (dékhomai, "to receive"). Unlike a hospice, which implies a terminus of care, or an inn, a secular transaction of coin for comfort, a xenodochium is a deliberate, charitable pause in a sacred rhythm. It is the stone-flagged cell kept swept for the unknown wayfarer, the bowl of broth and coarse bread left without a ledger, and the shared prayer before a journey resumes at dawn—a fragile architecture of welcome, maintained against the vast, cold indifference of the road.
Etymology
From Latin, from Ancient Greek ξενοδοχεῖον (xenodokheîon, “place for strangers, inn”) from ξένος (xénos, “guest, stranger, foreigner”) + δέχομαι (dékhomai, “receive, accept”).
noun
- A room (or separate guesthouse) in a monastery for the temporary accommodation of guests or pilgrims.“Gregory the Great orders that the accounts of xenodochia should be audited by the bishop (Epist. iv. 27).”