Etymology

The word "hospice" has its origin in the Latin term hospitium, a place where a guest receives hospitality. The words "hospital," "hotel," and ‘"hostel" all derive from the same Latin root, and suggest places of comfort, support, and care.

Definition (American Heritage Dictionary)

1. A shelter or lodging for travelers, pilgrims, foundlings, or the destitute, especially one maintained by a monastic order.
2. A program that provides palliative care and attends to the emotional and spiritual needs of terminally ill patients at an inpatient facility or at the patient's home.

A program of humane and supportive care for the terminally ill and their families; the term also applies to a professional facility that provides care to dying patients who can no longer be cared for at home. Hospice is an alternative to hospitalization that emphasizes home care for as long as possible; relief from pain; an attractive, noninstitutional environment if the patient can no longer be cared for at home; and personal and family counseling. The hospice movement was pioneered by Dr. Cicely Saunders, founder of St. Christopher's Hospice (opened 1967), London, and furthered by Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross's work with the dying.

Etymology

The word "palliative" came from the Latin word palliare which means to cloak. In healthcare, it pertains to any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of the symptoms of a disease or slows its progress rather than providing a cure.

Definition (Wikipedia)

Palliative care is any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of disease symptoms, rather than providing a cure. The goal is to prevent and relieve suffering and to improve quality of life for people facing serious, complex illness. Non-hospice palliative care is not dependent on prognosis and is offered in conjunction with curative and all other appropriate forms of medical treatment. It should not be confused with hospice care which delivers palliative care to those at the end of life. In the UK this distinction is not operative; hospices and non hospice based palliative care teams both provide care to those with life limiting illness at any stage of their disease.

Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problems associated with life-threatening illness through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual.

Provides relief from pain and other symptoms Affirms life and regards dying as a normal process Intends neither to hasten or postpone death Integrates the psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care Offers a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death Offers a support system to help the family cope during the patient's illness and in their own bereavement Uses a team approach to address the needs of patients and their families including bereavement counselling if indicated Will enhance quality of life and may also positively influence the course of illness Is applicable early in the course of illness in conjunction with other therapies that are intended to prolong life such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy and includes those investigations needed to better understanding and management distressing clinical complications.

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Reference:
Palliative Care in the Developing World:
Principles and Practice 1st Edition
IAHPC Press