An Englishwoman got herself locked in a French town hall after she thought hôtel de ville meant 'hotel', according to an article in today's Mail on Sunday. The word hotel comes from the Old French ostel. A circumflex in French often indicates that the word was formerly spelt with an s. The OED's first definition of hotel is French-related too: "Originally, and chiefly with reference to France and French-speaking countries: a large private residence, a town mansion".
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August 23, 2009
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