Host
Host (hōst) , noun
[Late Latin hostia sacrifice, victim, from hostire to strike.]
(Roman Catholic Church) 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
[Old English host, ost, Old French host, ost, from Latin hostis enemy, Late Latin, army. See Guest, and compare Host a landlord.]
1.
An army; a number of men gathered for war.
A host so great as covered all the field.
2.
Any great number or multitude; a throng.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God.
All at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils.
Host (hōst) , noun
[Old English host, ost, Old French hoste, oste, French hôte, from Latin hospes a stranger who is treated as a guest, he who treats another as his guest, a hostl prob. from hostis stranger, enemy (akin to English guest a visitor) + potis able; akin to Sanskrit pati master, lord. See Host an army, Possible, and compare 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. — Tennyson
Fair host and Earl.
Time is like a fashionable host,
That slightly shakes his parting guest by the hand.
2.
(Biology) Any animal or plant affording lodgment or subsistence to a parasitic or commensal organism. Thus a tree is a host of an air plant growing upon it.
Host , transitive verb
To give entertainment to. [Obsolete] — Spenser
Host , intransitive verb
To lodge at an inn; to take up entertainment. [Obsolete]
Where you shall host.