noun
cheap lodging; flophouse; doss-house
Colloquial term, originally an inversion of 宿 (やど). Refers to very cheap, often run-down accommodation, especially in areas like ドヤ街 (day-laborer districts).
See also: 宿
あの辺りはドヤ街で、一泊千円のどやが並んでいる。
That area is a flophouse district, lined with cheap lodgings at 1,000 yen a night.
昔、仕事がなくてどやに泊まったことがある。
Back when I was out of work, I once stayed in a doss-house.
Slang inversion of 宿 (やど), meaning lodging. The exact origin is uncertain, but it likely arose in informal speech among day laborers or in working-class districts.