inn Meaning, Definition & Usage

Inn noun

Etymology

AS. in,inn, house, chamber, inn, from AS. in in; akin to Icel. inni house. See In.

Definitions

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. ✍ 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.

Inn intransitive verb

Wordforms

imperfect & past participle Inned ; present participle & verbal noun Inning

Definitions

1. To take lodging; to lodge. R. Addison.

Inn transitive verb

Definitions

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.