Host

Since at least the early twelfth century, ‘host’ held its more common association with someone ‘who lodges and entertains another in his house’ or ‘a place of lodging or entertainment’. ¹ ‘Host’ was also, until the mid-seventeenth century, a noun used to identify those who, in imitation of Jesus Christ, were ‘victims for sacrifice’. ² This usage was greatly influenced by the sacramental bread in Christian liturgy, known as the host (a derivative of the Latin hostia, ‘victim’), which symbolizes the body of Christ. ³ ‘Host’ also had the now-archaic meaning of an army or a crowd. ⁴ English translations of the Bible, for example, included ‘Lord of Hosts’ as one of the names of God, a title based on the Hebrew sabaoth (armies) which referred to the divine army of angels who served to exalt the kingship and power of God. ⁵ The military meanings of ‘host’ derived from the Latin hostis, a noun used to identify foreign or public enemies. ⁶