Spital
See also: spital, špital, and špitál
German
Alternative forms
- Hospital (literary; dated)
Etymology
From Middle High German spitāl, hospitāl, from Old High German *hospitāl (attested in hospitālhūs (“hospital”)), from Latin hospitale.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʃpiˈtaːl/, [ʃpiːˈtaːl]
- Rhymes: -aːl
Noun
Spital n (genitive Spitals, plural Spitäler)
- (dated outside Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, southern Germany) hospital
- Synonym: Krankenhaus (overall more common)
Usage notes
- The word remains predominant (vis-à-vis Krankenhaus) in Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, and South Tyrol. Both words are common in many parts of southern Germany. In northern and central Germany, Spital is dated and now used almost exclusively by some of the older generation.
Declension
Declension of Spital
| singular | plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| indef. | def. | noun | def. | noun | |
| nominative | ein | das | Spital | die | Spitäler |
| genitive | eines | des | Spitals | der | Spitäler |
| dative | einem | dem | Spital | den | Spitälern |
| accusative | ein | das | Spital | die | Spitäler |
Further reading
- Spital in Duden online
