Guest and Host Come From the Same Word
A guest is an invited visitor. The Latin word behind host meant both host and guest, and it also produced hostile.
A guest is a person invited to visit or stay. The Indo-European root behind *guest* also gave Latin *hostis*, and that word did remarkable work: it meant a stranger, then a guest, then an enemy, producing both *host* and *hostile* in English. A stranger arriving at your door was either a guest or a threat, and the language kept both possibilities in one word. *Hospitality* and *hospital* come from the same family.
- An invited visitor. *A house guest.*
- A paying visitor. *Hotel guests.*
- Host — the counterpart. *A generous host.*
- Hostile — from the same root. *A hostile crowd.*
- Hospitality — the welcome given. *Warm hospitality.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | guest | A guest. |
| Plural | guests | Ten guests. |
| Verb | guest | She guested on the show. |
| Related | host | A host. |
| Latin | hostis | Stranger, enemy. |
- We have guests staying this weekend.Visitors.
- He guested on the podcast.Verb.
- Hostis meant both stranger and enemy.Etymology.
The stranger family
- Guest — the Germanic form
- Host — the one who receives, from Latin *hospes*
- Hostile — from *hostis*, the enemy sense
- Hospital — a place for guests, then for the sick
- Hostage — originally someone lodged as a guarantee
Old Norse *gestr*, replacing Old English *giest*, from a Germanic root shared with Latin *hostis*, a stranger.
Are guest and hostile related?
Yes. Both descend from a root meaning stranger, which could mean either a welcome visitor or an enemy.
Why do hospital and hospitality share a root?
Both come from Latin hospes, a host or guest. A hospital was originally a place of shelter for travellers.