dormitory

Etymology

From Middle English dormitory, dormytory, dormytorye, borrowed from Latin dormitorium (“a sleeping-room”), neuter of dormitorius (“belonging to sleep”), dormitor (“a sleeper”), from dormire (“to sleep”). Doublet of dorter.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈdɔɹmɪtɔɹi/

Noun

dormitory (plural dormitories)

1. A room containing a number of beds (and often some other furniture and/or utilities) for sleeping, often applied to student and backpacker accommodation of this kind.
2. A building or part of a building which houses students, soldiers, monks etc. who sleep there and use communal further facilities.
3. A dormitory town.

Further reading

• dormitory in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• dormitory in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• dormitory at OneLook Dictionary Search