noun

infirmary

in-FUR-muh-ree/ɪnˈfɜːrməri/

A place within an institution where sick or injured people receive care.

The school infirmary provides a quiet place for the nurse to treat the student's arm.

A quiet school infirmary with two beds, a first-aid cabinet and a Black nurse tending a white student's bandaged arm.

Etymology

inLatinnot

+firmLatinstrong, firm

+aryLatinplace for

An infirmary is a place for those who are “not strong”—the sick or frail. Its early meaning, a monastery’s sick bay, closely matches its institutional medical role today.

In context

Storytime Haven20:42

he lay for seven days betwixt life and death in our infirmary, saved only by Brother Peter’s skill in the pharmacies of herbs

Sir Nigel ⚔️🌟 | A Tale of Chivalry and Adventure | Arthur Conan Doyle

More examples

He rested in the infirmary.
The institution expanded its infirmary.
Two beds remained free in the infirmary.

Forms

infirmary · infirmaries

Similar words

clinic: A clinic need not serve a larger institution.
hospital: A hospital usually offers broader medical facilities than an institutional infirmary.