# host
## English
### Alternative forms

* hoast (obsolete)

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /həʊst/
* (General American) IPA: /hoʊst/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -əʊst

### Etymology 1

From Middle English hoste, from Old French oste (French: hôte), from Latin hospitem, accusative of hospes (“a host, also a sojourner, visitor, guest; hence, a foreigner, a stranger”), from *hostipotis, an old compound of hostis and the root of potis, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰóstipotis (“master of guests”), from *gʰóstis (“stranger, guest, enemy”) and *pótis (“owner, master, host, husband”). Used in English since 13th century.

#### Noun

host (plural hosts)
* One which receives or entertains a guest, socially, commercially, or officially.
    A good host is always considerate of the guest’s needs.
** c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]:Time is like a fashionable host, / That slightly shakes his parting guest by the hand.
* One that provides a facility for an event.
* A person or organization responsible for running an event.
    Our company is host of the annual conference this year.
* A moderator or master of ceremonies for a performance.
    Synonym: (UK) presenter
    The host was terrible, but the acts themselves were good.
* (computing, Internet) Any computer attached to a network.
* (ecology) A cell or organism which harbors another organism or biological entity, usually a parasite.
    Viruses depend on the host that they infect in order to be able to reproduce.
** 2013 May-June, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 193: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.
* (evolution, genetics) An organism bearing certain genetic material, with respect to its cells.
    The so-called junk DNA is known, so far, to provide no apparent benefit to its host.
* A paid male companion offering conversation and in some cases sex, as in certain types of bar in Japan.

##### Hyponyms

* (computing): localhost

##### Derived terms

* air host
* bulletproof host
* co-host
* definitive host
* DMZ host
* graft-versus-host
* graft-versus-host disease
* host cell
* host city
* host country
* hostel
* hoster
* hostess
* host family
* hostname
* host plant
* host response
* hostress
* host rock
* host selling
* host species
* host with the most
* jump host
* mine host
* no-host
* no host bar
* opinion host
* play host to
* reckon without one's host
* wraparound host
* zombie host

##### Related terms

* hotel
* hospitable
* hospital
* hospitality

##### Translations
#### Verb

host (third-person singular simple present hosts, present participle hosting, simple past and past participle hosted)
* To perform the role of a host.
    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.
** 1984 February 4, Suzan Bedrosian, “Sex Lives”, in Gay Community News, volume 11, number 28, page 4:I am quite impressed with the December 10th issue in which it hosted the article by Nancy Langer, "Different Abilities, the Same Queer Pleasures."
** 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.
* (obsolete, intransitive) To lodge at an inn.
** c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene v]:Where you shall host.
* (computing, Internet) To run software made available to a remote user or process.
    Kremvax hosts a variety of services.
** 1987 May 7, Selden E. Ball, Jr., “Re: Ethernet Terminal Concentrators”, in 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.

##### Derived terms

* self-host

##### Translations
#### See also

* compere
* guest
* event
* master of ceremonies

### Etymology 2

From Middle English oost, borrowed from Old French ost, oste, hoste, from Latin hostis (“foreign enemy”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰóstis (as opposed to inimicus (“personal enemy”)). Doublet of guest.

#### Noun

host (plural hosts)
* A multitude of people arrayed as an army; used also in religious senses, as: Heavenly host (of angels)
** 1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, “ch. X, Plugson of Undershot”, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, book III (The Modern Worker):Why, Plugson, even thy own host is all in mutiny: Cotton is conquered; but the ‘bare backs’ — are worse covered than ever!
** 1955 October 20, J[ohn] R[onald] R[euel] Tolkien, “chapter 4, The Field of Cormallen”, in The Return of the King: Being the Third Part of The Lord of the Rings […], New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, published December 1978, →ISBN:All about the hosts of Mordor raged.
** 1977, K.M. Elizabeth Murray, Caught in the Web of Words, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 173:By Lady Day the Scriptorium was ready to receive the "copying and burrowing" of the host of readers who had been directed by Furnivall for the past twenty years.
** 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.
* A large number of items; a large inventory.
    The dealer stocks a host of parts for my Model A.
** 1802, William Wordsworth, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud:I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; […]
** 1836, The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction:A short time since, some friends drinking tea one summer evening at their residence near Maidenhead, with all the windows of the drawing-room open, there suddenly burst in a host of small flies, which covered the table and the furniture […]
** 2018 June 18, Phil McNulty, “Tunisia 1 – 2 England”, in BBC Sport‎, archived from the original on 21 April 2019:England ran Tunisia ragged in that spell but were punished for missing a host of chances when Ferjani Sassi equalised from the penalty spot against the run of play after Kyle Walker was penalised for an elbow on Fakhreddine Ben Youssef.
** 2020 July 29, Ian Prosser discusses with Paul Stephen, “Rail needs robust and strategic plans”, in Rail, page 38:In the immediate term, there is a host of new operating procedures to be developed and to become familiarised with, in accordance with social distancing.

##### Derived terms

* heavenly host
* Lord of Hosts

##### Translations
### Etymology 3

From Middle English host, oist, ost, from Old French hoiste, from Latin hostia (“sacrificial victim”). Doublet of hostie.

#### Noun

host (plural hosts)
* (Christianity) The consecrated bread of the Eucharist.
** 1978, John Lydon (lyrics and music), “Religion II”, performed by Public Image Ltd.:Do you pray to the Holy Ghost when you suck your host? / Do you read who's dead in the Irish Post?

##### Derived terms

* host desecration

##### Translations
#### See also

* hostage

### Anagrams

* HOTs, Soth, TOSH, Thos., Tosh, hots, oths, shot, tosh

## Catalan
### Etymology

Inherited from Old Catalan ost, from Latin hostis, from Proto-Italic *hostis, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰóstis (“guest, stranger”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈɔst]

### Noun

host f (plural hosts)
* army, troops

#### See also

* exèrcit

### References

* “host” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “host”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
* “host” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
* “host” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

## Czech
### Etymology

Inherited from Old Czech host, from Proto-Slavic *gostь.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈɦost]
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

host m anim (female equivalent hostka)
* 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)
    Host a ryba třetí den smrdí.The guest and the fish smell the third day.

#### Usage notes

The archaic plural instrumental is hostmi.

#### Derived terms

* hostina
* hostinec
* hostit
* hostitel
* nehostinný
* pohostinství

#### Related terms

* hospoda
* hospodin

### Further reading

* “host”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
* “host”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
* “host”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

## Dutch
### Etymology 1

From English host.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɦoːst/.
* Rhymes: -ɔst

#### Noun

host m (plural hosts, diminutive hostje n)
* (computing) host

##### Derived terms

* hosten

### Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɦɔst/
* Audio:(file)

#### Verb

host
* inflection of hossen:
** second/third-person singular present indicative
** (archaic) plural imperative

## Norwegian Bokmål
### Etymology 1

Related to hoste ("to cough").

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /hust/
* Rhymes: -ust

#### Noun

host n (definite singular hostet, indefinite plural host, definite plural hosta or hostene)
* a single cough expulsion

##### Usage notes

* Prior to a 2020 spelling revision, this noun was also considered masculine.

### Etymology 2

From English host.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /hɔust/
* Rhymes: -ɔust

#### Noun

host m (definite singular hosten, indefinite plural hoster, definite plural hostene)
* (computing) host

##### Synonyms

* vertsmaskin

### Etymology 3
#### Verb

host
* imperative of hoste

### References

* “host” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Etymology 1

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

#### Noun

host n (definite singular hostet, indefinite plural host, definite plural hosta)
* a single cough expulsion

### Etymology 2

From English host.

#### Noun

host m (definite singular hosten, indefinite plural hostar, definite plural hostane)
* (computing) host

##### Synonyms

* vertsmaskin

### Etymology 3
#### Verb

host
* imperative of hosta

### References

* “host” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

## Old Czech
### Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *gostь.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (13th CE) /ˈɣost/
* IPA: (15th CE) /ˈɦost/

### Noun

host m pers (female equivalent hosti)
* guest
    host pocěstný ― a wayfarer
* foreigner

#### Derived terms

* hostina
* hostinnicě
* hostiti

#### Related terms

* hospod
* hospoda
* hospodin

#### Descendants

* Czech: host

### Further reading

* Jan Gebauer (1903–1916) “host”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

## Polish
### Etymology

Borrowed from English host. Doublet of gość.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈxɔst/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -ɔst
* Syllabification: host

### Noun

host m inan
* (networking) host (computer attached to a network)

#### Declension
### Noun

host m pers (female equivalent hostessa)
* host, promotional model (person hired to greet customers and guests of a store, hotel, or institution, and advertise goods or provide assistance, giving the necessary information or pointing the way)

#### Declension
### Noun

host m pers
* (slang) host (owner of a house, apartment, or guesthouse, as opposed to people renting premises from them)
    Synonym: gospodarz

#### Declension
### Further reading

* host in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
* host in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Portuguese
### Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English host.

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /ˈʁo(w)s.t͡ʃi/ [ˈho(ʊ̯)s.t͡ʃi]
* (Brazil) IPA: /ˈʁo(w)s.t͡ʃi/ [ˈho(ʊ̯)s.t͡ʃi]
** (Rio de Janeiro) IPA: /ˈʁo(w)ʃ.t͡ʃi/ [ˈχo(ʊ̯)ʃ.t͡ʃi]
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /ˈʁo(w)s.te/ [ˈho(ʊ̯)s.te]

### Noun

host m (plural hosts)
* (networking) host (computer attached to a network)

## Slovene
### Noun

hóst
* genitive dual/plural of họ̑sta

## Spanish
### Etymology

Borrowed from English host. Doublet of huésped.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈxost/ [ˈxost̪]
* Rhymes: -ost

### Noun

host m or f (plural hosts)
* (computing, Internet) host (any computer attached to a network)
    Synonym: anfitrión

## Swedish
### Interjection

host
* cough

#### Related terms

* hosta