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host¹

(hōst)

1. One who receives or entertains guests in a social or official capacity.

2. A person who manages an inn or hotel.

3. One that furnishes facilities and resources for a function or event: the city chosen as host for the Olympic Games.

4. The emcee or interviewer on a radio or television program.

5. Biology

a. An organism on which or in which another organism lives.

b. A cell that has been infected by a virus or other infective agent.

6. Medicine The recipient of a transplanted tissue or organ.

7. Computers

a. A computer or other device providing data or services that a remote computer can access by means of a network or modem.

b. A computer that is connected to a TCP/IP network such as the internet.

tr.v. host·ed, host·ing, hosts

1. To serve as host to or at: "the garden party he had hosted last spring" (Saturday Review).

2. To provide software that offers data or services, hardware, or both over a computer network.

[Middle English, host, guest, from Old French, from Latin hospes, hospit-; see ghos-ti- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

hostly adj.

host²

(hōst)

1. An army.

2. A great number; a multitude. See Synonyms at multitude.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin hostis, from Latin, enemy; see ghos-ti- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

host³ also Host

(hōst)

n.
Ecclesiastical

The consecrated bread or wafer of the Eucharist.

[Middle English, from Latin hostia, sacrifice.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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