dormitory

English

Etymology

From Middle English dormitory, dormytory, dormytorye, borrowed from Latin dormītōrium (“a sleeping-room”), from dormiō (“to sleep”). Doublet of dorter.

Pronunciation

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

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

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.
   • 1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], “(please specify the page)”, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 150–151:

     She will be much more likely to meet his wishes after a residence at the castle, than an imprisonment on short commons in her dormitory in Welbeck Street; for in one case she only learnt how much she could endure, in the other she will find how much she can enjoy.

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.

Synonyms

• (room for sleeping) dorm (common abbreviation)

Related terms

• dorm
• dormant
• dormitive
• dormition

Translations

room for sleeping

• Armenian: հանրակացարան (hy) (hanrakacʻaran)
• Bulgarian: о́бща спа́лня f (óbšta spálnja)
• Catalan: dormitori (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 寢室／寝室 (zh) (qǐnshì), 宿舍 (zh) (sùshè)

• Czech: noclehárna f
• Danish: sovesal c
• Dutch: (several sleepers) slaapzaal (nl), (one or very few) slaapcel
• Esperanto: amasloĝejo
• Estonian: ühikas, ühiselamu
• Finnish: makuusali, makuuhuone (fi)
• French: (several sleepers) dortoir (fr) m, (one or very few) cellule (fr)
• Georgian: საძინებელი (saʒinebeli)
• German: Schlafsaal (de) m, Dormitorium (de) n
• Greek: υπνοθάλαμος m (ypnothálamos), υπνωτήριο (el) n (ypnotírio), υπνοδωμάτιο (el) n (ypnodomátio)
• Hebrew: חדר שינה m (khadár shená)
• Hungarian: hálóterem (hu)
• Icelandic: svefnsalur m, (usually for students) heimavist f, kojuherbergi n
• Ido: dormeyo (io)
• Irish: suanlios m, dórtúr m
• Italian: camerata (it) f
• Japanese: 寝室 (ja) (shinshitsu)
• Khmer: សយនដ្ឋាន (saʼyaʼnaʼtthaan)
• Latin: dormitorium n
• Macedonian: спа́лна со́ба f (spálna sóba)
• Malay: please add this translation if you can
• Mongolian: оюутны байр (ojuutny bajr)
• Old English: slǣpern n
• Persian: خوابگاه (fa) (xâbgâh)
• Polish: akademik (pl) m
• Portuguese: dormitório (pt) m
• Romanian: dormitor (ro) n
• Russian: о́бщая спа́льня f (óbščaja spálʹnja), дортуа́р (ru) m (dortuár) (dated), спа́льня (ru) f (spálʹnja)
• Scottish Gaelic: suain-lann f, seòmar-cadail m
• Spanish: dormitorio (es) m
• Swahili: bweni
• Swedish: sovsal c
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: yatakhane (tr), yurt (tr)
• Ukrainian: почива́льня f (počyválʹnja)
• Vietnamese: phòng ngủ
• Welsh: noswylfa f

building or part thereof

• Albanian: konvikt (sq) m
• Arabic: مَهْجَع m (mahjaʕ)
• Armenian: հանրակացարան (hy) (hanrakacʻaran), քնարան (hy) (kʻnaran)
• Azerbaijani: yataqxana
• Belarusian: інтэрна́т m (internát)
• Bulgarian: общежи́тие (bg) n (obštežítie)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 宿舍 (zh) (sùshè), 寄宿舍 (zh) (jìsùshè)

• Czech: noclehárna f, internát (cs) m
• Danish: internat n
• Dutch: internaat (nl) n, studentenhuis (nl) n
• Esperanto: amasloĝejo
• Estonian: ühikas, ühiselamu, internaat
• Finnish: asuntola (fi)
• French: résidence (fr) f, foyer (fr), cité universitaire (fr) m
• Georgian: საერთო საცხოვრებელი (saerto sacxovrebeli)
• German: Studentenwohnheim (de) n, Studentenheim (de) n, Wohnheim (de) n, Heim (de) n, Dormitorium (de) n
• Greek: υπνωτήριο (el) n (ypnotírio), κοιτώνας (el) m (koitónas) (mostly in the army)
• Hebrew: (building for students) מעונות m pl (me'onot)
• Hungarian: (hostel in general) szálló (hu), (for students) diákszálló (hu), (for nuns/sisters/nurses) nővérszálló, (for workers) munkásszálló (hu), (for students) diákotthon (hu), kollégium (hu)
• Icelandic: heimavist f
• Indonesian: asrama (id)
• Italian: dormitorio (it) m
• Japanese: 寮 (ja) (りょう, ryō), 宿舎 (ja) (しゅくしゃ, shukusha)
• Kazakh: жатақхана (jataqxana)
• Khmer: និវាសដ្ឋាន (km) (niviəsatthaan)
• Korean: 기숙사(寄宿舍) (ko) (gisuksa)
• Kyrgyz: жатакана (ky) (jatakana)
• Latin: dormitorium n
• Latvian: internāts m, kopmītne f
• Lithuanian: bendrabutis m
• Macedonian: сту́дентски дом m (stúdentski dom)
• Malay: asrama (ms)
• Maori: wharemoe
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: internat n, studenthjem n

• Persian: خوابگاه (fa) (xâbgâh)
• Polish: akademik (pl) m, dormitorium (pl) n, internat (pl) m
• Portuguese: dormitório (pt) m
• Romanian: cămin (ro) n
• Russian: общежи́тие (ru) n (obščežítije), обща́га (ru) f (obščága) ((colloquial, slang)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: студентски дом m

  Roman: studentski dom m

• Slovak: internát m, nocľaháreň f
• Slovene: študentski dom m
• Spanish: residencia estudiantil f, dormitorio (es) m
• Swedish: studenthem (sv) n
• Tajik: хобгоҳ (xobgoh)
• Thai: หอพัก (hɔ̌ɔ-pák)
• Turkish: yatakhane (tr), yurt (tr)
• Turkmen: ýatakhana
• Udmurt: огинъюрт (oginjurt)
• Ukrainian: гурто́житок m (hurtóžytok)
• Uyghur: ياتاقخانا (yataqxana)
• Uzbek: yotoqxona (uz)
• Vietnamese: kí túc xá
• Yakut: уопсай дьиэ (uopsay jie)
• Yiddish: אינטערנאַט (internat)

See also

• dorter, dortoir, dortour

Further reading

• “dormitory”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “dormitory”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “dormitory”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.