September theme: Community 🏘️

Introduction

This word for "guest"/"host" is restricted to the Late Northwest Indo-European languages, appearing—as far as I know—only in Balto-Slavic, Germanic, and Italic, plus a single personal name in Lepontic (Celtic). It seems to be cognate to a word for "to eat" which is only attested in Indo-Iranian.

The word for guest and host appear to have been interchangeable in antiquity. Possibly because hospitality was viewed as reciprocal, and/or the original word may have simply meant "stranger that you are eating with", without specifying the guest or host roles.

Teaser

guest and host, hospitality and hostility

Full Text

• Proto-Indo-European *gʰes- to eat

  • Proto-Indo-European *gʰese-ti primary verb

    • Indo-Iranian

      • Indo-Aryan

        • Sanskrit 𑀖𑀲𑀢𑀺 ghásati to eat
      • Iranian

        • Avestan gah to eat, to gorge
  • Northwest Indo-European *gʰóst-is guest, stranger lit. "eater"?

    • Balto-Slavic

      • Slavic *gȏstь guest

        • East Slavic

          • Russian гость gostʹ guest, visitor
        • South Slavic

          • Old Church Slavonic ⰳⱁⱄⱅⱐ gostĭ guest
          • Serbo-Croatian го̑ст gȏst guest
        • West Slavic

          • Polish gość guest, guy, fellow
        • Slavic *Gostislavъ Guest-Glory (personal name)

          • West Slavic

            • Polish Goscław
            • Old Swedish Gøtstaf ^[1]

              • Swedish Gustav
    • Celtic *gostiyos

      • Lepontic *kośio

        • Lepontic 𐌖𐌅𐌀𐌌𐌏𐌊𐌏𐌆𐌉𐌔 uvamokozis Has-Splendid-Guests (personal name)
    • Germanic *gastiz stranger, guest

      • East Germanic

        • Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍃𐍄𐍃 gasts guest
      • North Germanic *gastiz guest

        • Old Norse gestr guest

          • Danish gæst visitor, guest
          • Icelandic gestur guest, visitor
          • English guest
        • North Germanic ᚺᛚᛖᚹᚨᚷᚨᛊᛏᛁᛉ Hlewagastiz Famous-Guest (personal name)
        • North Germanic ᚾᚨᚢᛞᛁᚷᚨᛊᛏᛁᛉ Naudigastiz Need-Guest (personal name)
        • North Germanic ᛊᚨᛚᛁᚷᚨᛊᛏᛁᛉ Saligastiz either Hall-Guest or Joy-Guest (personal name)
      • West Germanic

        • Old English ġiest stranger, guest
        • Frankish

          • Dutch gast guest, apprentice, worker, knave, dude
        • Old High German gast guest

          • German Gast guest
          • Yiddish גאַסט gast guest
    • Italic *hostis stranger, guest

      • Latin hostis stranger, foreign enemy

        • Eastern Romance

          • Romanian oaste army, host archaic
        • Western Romance

          • Old French oste

            • French ost army, host archaic
            • English host
          • Italian oste army, host
          • Spanish hueste army, troops, following
        • Latin hostilis hostile, to do with enemies

          • French hostile hostile

            • English hostile
          • Italian ostile hostile
          • Spanish hostil hostile
    • Northwest Indo-European *gʰóstipot-is guest-master, host

      • Balto-Slavic

        • Slavic *gospodь lord, liege

          • East Slavic господь gospodĭ lord, master

            • Russian Госпо́дь Gospódʹ Lord, God
            • Russian осподи́н gospodín gentleman, Mr., master
          • South Slavic

            • Old Church Slavonic господь gospodĭ lord, master
            • Serbo-Croatian Го̏спод Gȍspod Lord, God, Jesus
      • Italic *hostipotis

        • Latin hospes host, guest, visitor, stranger

          • Eastern Romance

            • Romanian oaspete guest
          • Western Romance

            • Old French oste innkeeper, landlord, host

              • French hôte host, guest, innkeeper
              • English host
              • Italian oste innkeeper
            • Italian ospite host, guest
            • Spanish huésped guest, lodger
          • Latin hospitālis hospitable, generous, pertaining to hospitality or hosts

            • Latin hospitāle guesthouse, guestroom, hospital

              • Western Romance

                • Old French ostel shelter, place to stay

                  • French hôtel mansion, townhouse, hotel

                    • English hotel
                    • Italian hotel hotel
                    • Spanish hotel hotel
                  • English hostel
                • Italian ospedale hospital
                • Old Occitan ostal

                  • Occitan ostal house
                  • Spanish hostal hostel
              • Old French hospital

                • French hôpital
                • English hospital
              • Italian ospitale hospitable, friendly, welcome
              • Spanish hospital hospital
            • Latin hospitālitās

              • Western Romance

                • French hospitalité hospitality

                  • English hospitality
                • Italian ospitalità hospitality
                • Spanish hospitalidad hospitality
          • Latin hospitium hospitality, friendship, lodgings, poor-house

            • Eastern Romance

              • Romanian ospăț feast, banquet
            • Western Romance

              • French hospice hospice

                • English hospice
              • Italian ospizio nursing home, hospice
            • Koine Greek ὁσπίτιον hospítion

              • Byzantine Greek σπίτιν spítin

                • Greek σπίτι spíti house, home
            • Welsh ysbyty hospital ^[2]

Visual

Collected English words

guest, host, hostile, hotel, hostel, hospital, hospitality, hospice

Footnotes

1. ^

   The Swedish name Gustav has traditionally been understood as "Göt-Staf": "Staff (Support) of the Geats". But that is probably a folk-etymology for a name borrowed from Polish Goscław: "Guest-Glory", or the equivalent in another West Slavic language.

2. ^

   Welsh ysbyty has been modified by folk-etymology to end with tŷ: "house", parallel to, e.g., bwyty: "restaurant", lit. "food-house".