Comments on: ‘Guests’ and ‘hosts’ http://blog.oup.com/2013/02/guest-host-word-origin-etymology/ Academic insights for the thinking world. Tue, 21 May 2013 22:08:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: Isaac Demme http://blog.oup.com/2013/02/guest-host-word-origin-etymology/#comment-364714 Isaac Demme Thu, 07 Mar 2013 22:01:57 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=35348#comment-364714 Supposing your suggestion that Latin hostis and Sanskrit ghásati are related through the idea of a food offering to strangers, would this not also furnish an explanation for Latin hostia? A sacrificial victim is also (especially in the ancient world) an offering which is consumed (albeit not often consumed by a stranger). This could also be supported by Roland's note above that hostis, ghast, ksenos, and hostus are connected with PIE *ǵhes, although the connection between sacrifice and exchange is a bit more tenuous. Supposing your suggestion that Latin hostis and Sanskrit ghásati are related through the idea of a food offering to strangers, would this not also furnish an explanation for Latin hostia?
A sacrificial victim is also (especially in the ancient world) an offering which is consumed (albeit not often consumed by a stranger).

This could also be supported by Roland’s note above that hostis, ghast, ksenos, and hostus are connected with PIE *ǵhes, although the connection between sacrifice and exchange is a bit more tenuous.

]]> By: This Week’s Language Blog Roundup: presidents’ words, dialect controversy, fairy tales | Wordnik http://blog.oup.com/2013/02/guest-host-word-origin-etymology/#comment-360859 This Week’s Language Blog Roundup: presidents’ words, dialect controversy, fairy tales | Wordnik Fri, 22 Feb 2013 15:04:13 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=35348#comment-360859 [...] also explored guest and host words, the genetic lexicon, and horse idioms and proverbs. In addition, they explained when wrong usages [...] [...] also explored guest and host words, the genetic lexicon, and horse idioms and proverbs. In addition, they explained when wrong usages [...]

]]> By: Roland Schuhmann http://blog.oup.com/2013/02/guest-host-word-origin-etymology/#comment-359450 Roland Schuhmann Sun, 17 Feb 2013 19:36:46 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=35348#comment-359450 A bit later then usual ... When you write that: "Those scholars who looked on ksénos and hostis as related also cited Sanskrit ghásati “consume.” ... The Sanskrit verb begins with gh-.", this is not completely true. The words hostis/gast and ksénos are connected with a root PIE *ǵhes- 'to take, give in exchange' (cp. lat. hostus 'the yield of olive from a single pressing'), that is also the basis of gr. kheír 'hand, fist', so that (de Vaan, Etymological Dictionary of Latin, p. 291) "hostis would have developed from an earlier abstract noun ‘exchange’" (cp. for example B. Vine, An alleged case of “inflectional contamination”: on the i-stem inflection of Latin civis. Incontri Linguistici 29 [2006], 139-158; also favourized in de Vaan). A bit later then usual …

When you write that: “Those scholars who looked on ksénos and hostis as related also cited Sanskrit ghásati “consume.” … The Sanskrit verb begins with gh-.”, this is not completely true.
The words hostis/gast and ksénos are connected with a root PIE *ǵhes- ‘to take, give in exchange’ (cp. lat. hostus ‘the yield of olive from a single pressing’), that is also the basis of gr. kheír ‘hand, fist’, so that (de Vaan, Etymological Dictionary of Latin, p. 291) “hostis would have developed from an earlier
abstract noun ‘exchange’” (cp. for example B. Vine, An alleged case of “inflectional contamination”: on the i-stem inflection of Latin civis. Incontri Linguistici 29 [2006], 139-158; also favourized in de Vaan).

]]> By: Jenna http://blog.oup.com/2013/02/guest-host-word-origin-etymology/#comment-358553 Jenna Thu, 14 Feb 2013 16:10:07 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=35348#comment-358553 Love the article, hate to be so pedantic, but: "pointing out that everything in the world has too sides" Surely you meant "two" sides? :) I find it hard to believe that this text was not proofread before publishing... Love the article, hate to be so pedantic, but:

“pointing out that everything in the world has too sides”

Surely you meant “two” sides? :) I find it hard to believe that this text was not proofread before publishing…

]]> By: Henno Brandsma http://blog.oup.com/2013/02/guest-host-word-origin-etymology/#comment-358504 Henno Brandsma Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:37:04 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=35348#comment-358504 In modern West Frisian we have a similar replacement: old Frisian had "jest" for guest (nice and regular), with e.g. jesthus being used as a word for hospital (still gasthuis is used as such in many names for hospitals to this day). In the plural there could be forms with a (gastum as a dat. pl. ), and the WF form nowadays is "gast" [pronounced with deep short o, because of the -s that follows], which could be explained with a vowel from the plural, but which I believe is an adaptation from the Dutch gast. Such words with j (from g- before palatal vowels) have historically been under pressure in WF: we now say "gat"[gOt], no longer "jet" (for hole, Dutch gat, again we could use a plural form as an excuse), gêst (yeast), no longer "*jêst", probably influenced (in its consonant only) by Dutch "gist" .WF has a voiced stop, not a fricative like Dutch has, though. It's a nice parallel with the English being influenced by the cognates from Scandinavian... In modern West Frisian we have a similar replacement: old Frisian had “jest” for guest (nice and regular), with e.g. jesthus being used as a word for hospital (still gasthuis is used as such in many names for hospitals to this day). In the plural there could be forms with a (gastum as a dat. pl. ), and the WF form nowadays is “gast” [pronounced with deep short o, because of the -s that follows], which could be explained with a vowel from the plural, but which I believe is an adaptation from the Dutch gast. Such words with j (from g- before palatal vowels) have historically been under pressure in WF: we now say “gat”[gOt], no longer “jet” (for hole, Dutch gat, again we could use a plural form as an excuse), gêst (yeast), no longer “*jêst”, probably influenced (in its consonant only) by Dutch “gist” .WF has a voiced stop, not a fricative like Dutch has, though. It’s a nice parallel with the English being influenced by the cognates from Scandinavian…

]]> By: mollymooly http://blog.oup.com/2013/02/guest-host-word-origin-etymology/#comment-358472 mollymooly Thu, 14 Feb 2013 09:43:59 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=35348#comment-358472 French "hôte" still has both meanings; "table d'hôte" = host's table; "chambre d'hôte" = guest's room. But a female host is une hôtesse, whereas a female guest is une hôte. French “hôte” still has both meanings; “table d’hôte” = host’s table; “chambre d’hôte” = guest’s room. But a female host is une hôtesse, whereas a female guest is une hôte.

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