hospice

/ˈhɑspɪs/

//ˈhɑspɪs// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"hospice" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hospice” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,385. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,385
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A lodging for pilgrims or the destitute, normally provided by a monastic order.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hospice · hospice · English

hospice · rank #17,385 · 10 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #17,385
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH horseback

Nearest frequency peer: horseback (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “hospice”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “hospice” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

hospice vs hostile
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for hospice
PropertyValue
Headwordhospice
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhɑspɪs/
Letters7
Frequency rank#17,385
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hospice”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).hospicelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “horseback” (#17,384), “hotline” (#17,386), “hobbit” (#17,383). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hospice” is #17,385. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around hospice (IPA /ˈhɑspɪs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #17,385 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for hospice, with forms such as "hhospice", "hopsice", and "hosipce". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "hostile", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French hospice, from Old French hospise, from Latin hospitium (“hospitality, an inn”). Doublet of hospitium. The correct English form is hospice, spelled H-O-S-P-I-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A lodging for pilgrims or the destitute, normally provided by a monastic order.
  2. 2
    The provision of palliative care for terminally ill patients, either at a specialized facility or at a residence, and support for the family, typically refraining from taking extraordinary measures to prolong life.
  3. 3
    A specialized facility or organization offering palliative care for the terminally ill.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how hospice appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. At the west end of the street is the ruined 13th-century hospice, known locally as Pilgrims' Rest. It was built by Bishop Beck for the use of travellers, and was used as place of rest by pilgrims on their way from Bardsey Island to St David's Cathedral.
  2. The modern concept of hospice and palliative nursing has its roots in the hospice movement. Introduced to the United States in the early 1960s, hospice has grown from one organization in 1971 to more than 3500 organizations in 2001.

Etymology

Borrowed from French hospice, from Old French hospise, from Latin hospitium (“hospitality, an inn”). Doublet of hospitium.

This word in other languages

hospicio(Español)hospice(Français)Hospiz(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhospice
  • hopsice
  • hosipce
  • hospcie
  • hospicce
  • hospiec
  • hosppice
  • hosspice
  • hsopice
  • ohspice

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hospice - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

hhospice1hopsice2hosipce2hospcie2hospicce1hospiec2hosppice1hosspice1
Edit distance from "hospice"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hospice"?
"hospice" is spelled H-O-S-P-I-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɑspɪs/.
What does "hospice" mean?
As a noun, "hospice" means: A lodging for pilgrims or the destitute, normally provided by a monastic order.
What words are commonly confused with "hospice"?
"hospice" is commonly confused with "hostile". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hospice"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hospice" is /ˈhɑspɪs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "hospice"?
Borrowed from French hospice, from Old French hospise, from Latin hospitium (“hospitality, an inn”). Doublet of hospitium. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hospice", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

hotline#17,386integer#17,389Kremlin#17,399glacial#17,370

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

glands10 variantsespresso10 variantsEpstein10 variantsengages10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list