Meaning of the Word: Accommodation
Definitions and Meaning in English
- Accommodation (noun): A place where someone can stay, live, or work. This can refer to temporary housing, like a hotel room, or more permanent living arrangements.
- Accommodation (noun): Adjustments or modifications made to meet specific needs, such as changes in the workplace or educational environment to help someone with a disability.
- Accommodation (noun): The process of adapting or adjusting to a new situation, environment, or set of conditions.
History and Origin
The word accommodation comes from the Latin accommodatio, meaning “to fit, adjust, or make suitable,” from accommodare (meaning “to fit” or “to adapt”). The term has been used in English since the late 16th century, originally in the sense of adapting or adjusting. Over time, it expanded to also refer to places of lodging and the act of providing for someone’s needs.
Detailed Explanation
Accommodation has several meanings, all relating to the idea of adjustment or providing something to meet needs or fit circumstances. It can refer to:
- Physical lodging: A place where people can stay, whether temporarily or permanently, such as in hotels, apartments, or dormitories.
- Adjustment or adaptation: The act of modifying something to suit a person’s needs or circumstances, such as providing accessibility features for someone with a disability or making changes in the workplace to help employees perform better.
- Agreement or compromise: In some contexts, accommodation can refer to a compromise between parties, where each side adjusts their stance to reach a mutually acceptable solution.
Example Sentences
- The hotel offers excellent accommodation for business travelers.
- The university provides accommodation for students with special needs.
- After moving to a new city, she quickly found accommodation near her workplace.
- The company made several accommodation adjustments to support employees working remotely.
- The tour company arranged for luxurious accommodation during our trip.
- The school was praised for its accommodation of students with disabilities.
- The team reached an accommodation after a long negotiation process.
- We need to find suitable accommodation for the visiting guests.
- The hotel offers accommodation that ranges from basic rooms to luxury suites.
Synonyms with Short Explanation
- Lodging: A place where people can stay temporarily, often used in the context of hotels or short-term stays.
- Housing: A more general term for a place where people live, whether short-term or long-term.
- Residence: A place where someone lives, similar to accommodation in terms of long-term living arrangements.
- Adjustment: A change or modification made to suit a particular need or condition, similar to an accommodation in a more figurative sense.
- Settlement: An agreement or compromise reached, often involving changes or accommodations to satisfy all parties involved.
Related Words with Short Explanation
- Facility: A building or space designed for a specific purpose, such as accommodation facilities in a hotel or hospital.
- Suitability: The degree to which something meets a particular need or fits a particular purpose, similar to the concept of accommodation.
- Adaptation: The process of adjusting something to fit new conditions or needs, closely related to accommodation in the sense of adjustment.
- Comfort: A state of physical ease or well-being, often the goal of good accommodation.
- Accessibility: The quality of being easy to reach or use, often important in providing proper accommodation for individuals with disabilities.
Antonyms
- Inconvenience: A situation that causes difficulty or discomfort, opposite of providing accommodation or comfort.
- Discomfort: Lack of physical ease or distress, the opposite of what good accommodation aims to provide.
- Unavailability: The state of not being accessible or provided for, unlike accommodation which offers availability.
- Exclusion: The act of not including or providing for someone, opposite of the inclusive nature of accommodation.
- Disagreement: A lack of agreement or compromise, contrary to accommodation in a negotiation or settlement context.