Sanatorium

The name for a building, or part of a building, devoted to the care of the sick is spelled sanatorium. The sometimes seen sanitorium is an error. Don't make it!

• Further errors to be avoided are sanatarium and sanitarium.

Etymological note: both spellings (the correct sanatorium and the incorrect sanitorium) are derived from the Latin adjective sanus, 'healthy'; the first via the verb sānāre 'to heal', and the second through the noun sānitās,'health'. Both sanatorium and sanitorium are pronounced with the stress on the third syllable: 'san-it-OWEr-y-um', IPA: /sæn ə ˈtɔːr ɪ əm/. Pedantic teachers may insist on the Latin plurals sanatoria, sanitoria, sanataria and sanitaria. (See further -um in Latin.) But the natural English plural in '-s-' is perfectly normal, and to AWE's taste preferable. Use sanatoriums