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Webster 1913 Edition


Host

Host

(hōst)
,
Noun.
[LL.
hostia
sacrifice, victim, from
hostire
to strike.]
(R. C. Ch.)
The consecrated wafer, believed to be the body of Christ, which in the Mass is offered as a sacrifice; also, the bread before consecration.
☞ In the Latin Vulgate the word was applied to the Savior as being an offering for the sins of men.

Host

(hōst)
,
Noun.
[OE.
host
,
ost
, OF.
host
,
ost
, fr. L.
hostis
enemy, LL., army. See
Guest
, and cf.
Host
a landlord.]
1.
An army; a number of men gathered for war.
A
host
so great as covered all the field.
Dryden.
2.
Any great number or multitude; a throng.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly
host
praising God.
Luke ii. 13.
All at once I saw a crowd,
A
host
, of golden daffodils.
Wordsworth.

Host

(hōst)
,
Noun.
[OE.
host
,
ost
, OF.
hoste
,
oste
, F.
hôte
, from L.
hospes
a stranger who is treated as a guest, he who treats another as his guest, a hostl prob. fr.
hostis
stranger, enemy (akin to E.
guest
a visitor) +
potis
able; akin to Skr.
pati
master, lord. See
Host
an army,
Possible
, and cf.
Hospitable
,
Hotel
.]
1.
One who receives or entertains another, whether gratuitously or for compensation; one from whom another receives food, lodging, or entertainment; a landlord.
Chaucer.
“Fair host and Earl.”
Tennyson.
Time is like a fashionable
host
,
That slightly shakes his parting guest by the hand.
Shakespeare

Host

,
Verb.
T.
To give entertainment to.
[Obs.]
Spenser.

Host

,
Verb.
I.
To lodge at an inn; to take up entertainment.
[Obs.]
“Where you shall host.”
Shak.

Webster 1828 Edition


Host

HOST

,
Noun.
[L.hostis, a stranger, an enemy, probably of the same family. See Hospitable.]
1.
One who entertains another at his own house, without reward.
Homer never entertained guests or hosts with long speeches.
2.
One who entertains another at his house for reward; an innkeeper; a landlord.
3.
A guest; one who is entertained at the house of another. The innkeeper says of the traveler,he has a good host,and the traveler says of his landlord, he has a kind host. [See Guest.]

HOST

,
Noun.
[L. hostis, a stranger, an enemy.] The sense is probably transferred from a single foe to an army of foes.]
1.
An army; a number of men embodied for war.
2.
Any great number or multitude.

HOST

,
Noun.
[L. hostia, a victim or sacrifice, from hostis, an enemy.]
In the Romish church, the sacrifice of the mass, or the consecrated wafer, representing the body of Christ, or as the Catholics allege, transubstantiated into his own body.

HOST

,
Verb.
I.
To lodge at an inn; to take up entertainment. [Little used.]

HOST

,
Verb.
T.
To give entertainment to. [Not used.]

Definition 2024


Host

Host

See also: host, höst, hőst, and hosť

Saterland Frisian

Noun

Host m

  1. cough

Related terms

host

host

See also: Host, höst, hőst, høst, and hosť

English

Alternative forms

Noun

host (plural hosts, feminine hostess)

  1. One which receives or entertains a guest, socially, commercially, or officially.
    A good host is always considerate of the guest’s needs.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare
      Time is like a fashionable host, / That slightly shakes his parting guest by the hand.
  2. One that provides a facility for an event.
  3. A person or organization responsible for running an event.
    Our company is host of the annual conference this year.
  4. A moderator or master of ceremonies for a performance.
    The host was terrible, but the acts themselves were good.
  5. (computing, Internet) A server in a network.
  6. (computing, Internet) Any computer attached to a network.
  7. (ecology) A cell or organism which harbors another organism or biological entity, usually a parasite.
    • 2013 May-June, Katie L. Burke, In the News”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 193:
      Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola. A recent study explored the ecological variables that may contribute to bats’ propensity to harbor such zoonotic diseases by comparing them with another order of common reservoir hosts: rodents.
    Viruses depend on the host that they infect in order to be able to reproduce.
  8. (evolutionism, genetics) An organism bearing certain genetic material.
    The so-called junk DNA is known, so far, to provide no apparent benefit to its host.
  9. A paid male companion offering conversation and in some cases sex, as in certain types of bar in Japan.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms
Translations

Verb

host (third-person singular simple present hosts, present participle hosting, simple past and past participle hosted)

  1. To perform the role of a host.
    • 2013 May-June, Katie L. Burke, In the News”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 193:
      Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola.
    Our company will host the annual conference this year.
    I was terrible at hosting that show.
    I’ll be hosting tonight. I hope I’m not terrible.
  2. (obsolete, intransitive) To lodge at an inn.
    • Shakespeare
      Where you shall host.
  3. (computing, Internet) To run software made available to a remote user or process.
    • 1987 May 7, Selden E. Ball, Jr., Re: Ethernet Terminal Concentrators, comp.protocols.tcp-ip, Usenet
      CMU/TEK TCP/IP software uses an excessive amount of cpu resources for terminal support both outbound, when accessing another system, and inbound, when the local system is hosting a session.
    Kremvax hosts a variety of services.
Translations

See also

Etymology 2

From Old French hoste, from Middle Latin hostis (foreign enemy) (as opposed to inimicus (personal enemy)), cognate with etymology 1.

Noun

host (plural hosts)

  1. A multitude of people arrayed as an army; used also in religious senses, as: Heavenly host (of angels)
    • 1843, Thomas Carlyle, Past and Present, book 3, ch. X, Plugson of Undershot
      Why, Plugson, even thy own host is all in mutiny: Cotton is conquered; but the ‘bare backs’ — are worse covered than ever!
    • 2001, Carlos Parada, Hesione 2, Greek Mythology Link
      the invading host that had sailed from Hellas in more than one thousand ships was of an unprecedented size.
  2. A large number of items; a large inventory.
    A host of parts for my Model A.
Derived terms
  • heavenly host
  • Lord of Hosts
Translations

Etymology 3

From Middle English also oist, ost, from Old French hoiste, from Latin hostia (sacrificial victim).

Noun

host (plural hosts)

  1. (Christianity) The consecrated bread or wafer of the Eucharist.
Translations

See also

Anagrams


Catalan

Etymology

From Latin hostis.

Noun

host m (plural hosts or hostos)

  1. army

See also


Czech

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *gostь.

Pronunciation

Noun

host m

  1. guest
    Host do domu, Bůh do domu. ("A guest into the house, God into the house") — old proverb, meaning: respect should be shown to guests

Declension

Related terms


Dutch

Etymology 1

From English host.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɦoːst/.
  • Rhymes: -ɔst

Noun

host m (plural hosts, diminutive hostje n)

  1. (computing) host
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From hossen.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɦɔst/

Verb

host

  1. second- and third-person singular present indicative of hossen
  2. (archaic) plural imperative of hossen

Norwegian

Etymology 1

Related to hosta/hoste ("to cough").

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /hust/
  • Rhymes: -ust

Noun

host

  1. A single cough expulsion
Inflection

Verb

host

  1. imperative of hosta and hoste (Nynorsk)

Etymology 2

From English.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /hɔust/
  • Rhymes: -ɔust

Noun

host m

  1. (computing) host
Inflection
Synonyms

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

host

  1. imperative of hoste

Portuguese

Etymology

From English host.

Pronunciation

  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈʁowst͡ʃ/

Noun

host m (plural hosts)

  1. (networking) host (computer attached to a network)