I. ˈhōst noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English ost, oost, host, hoost, from Old French ost, host, from Late Latin hostis, from Latin, stranger, enemy — more at guest
1. : a large number of men gathered for war : army
the destruction of Pharaoh's host in that sea — W.L.Sperry
walls that must be directly stormed by the hosts of courage — A.E.Stevenson b.1900
2.
a. : angels
a multitude of the heavenly host praising God — Lk 2:13 (Revised Standard Version)
b. : the sun, moon, and stars
all the host of heaven — Deut 4:19 (Revised Standard Version)
3. : a very large number : a great quantity : multitude , myriad
a whole host of children began to push at the door — Ernest Beaglehole
hotel with its long lobbies filled with … hosts of rocking chairs — Marjory S. Douglas
writing a host of accumulated book reviews — H.J.Laski
a whole host of national monuments, military parks, memorials, and cemeteries — C.L.Wirth
II. intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: to gather in a host : assemble usually for a hostile purpose
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English oste, hoste host, guest, from Old French, from Latin hospit-, hospes host, stranger, guest, from hostis stranger, enemy
1.
a. : innkeeper
b. : one who receives or entertains guests or strangers socially or commercially
ourself will mingle with society and play the humble host — Shakespeare
2.
a. : a living animal or plant affording subsistence or lodgment to a parasite — see alternate host , definitive host , intermediate host
b. : the larger, stronger, or dominant one of a commensal or symbiotic pair
c.
(1) : an individual into which a tissue or part is transplanted from another
(2) : an individual in whom an abnormal growth (as a cancer) is proliferating
3. : a mineral or rock that is older than other minerals or rocks introduced into it or formed within or adjacent to it
IV. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English osten, hosten, from oste, hoste, n.
intransitive verb
obsolete : lodge
go bear it to the Centaur, where we host , and stay there — Shakespeare
transitive verb
1. : to receive or entertain socially : serve as host to
will host the cadets during their visit — Springfield (Massachusetts) Daily News
2.
a. : to receive or entertain guests at : serve as host at
the garden party he had hosted last spring — Saturday Review
hosted the shower, at which 70 relatives were present to meet the bride — Sacramento (Calif.) Bee
b. : emcee
successfully hosted a series of television programs
V. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English oste, hoste, from Middle French osté, hosté, back-formation from ostez, hostez, plural of ostel, hostel — more at hostel
obsolete : lodging — used in the phrase at host
lay at host … in the Centaur — Shakespeare
VI. noun
( -s )
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: Middle English oste, hoste, from Middle French oiste, hoiste, from Late Latin & Latin; Late Latin hostia Eucharist, from Latin, sacrifice
1. : the eucharistic wafer or bread before or after consecration
2. obsolete : sacrifice
VII. noun
1. : the computer on which a program runs or to which a peripheral (as a monitor) is connected
2. : a computer that controls communications in a network or that administers a database ; also : server herein