guest English · revision 4397

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 725|origins=non gestr}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɡest/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|gest]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) probably [[bor|non|gestr]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) replacing the related Old English gæst, giest, Anglian gest, “a chance comer, a stranger”, in which the g was pronounced like y;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) the native word would have given modern *yest.^(Etymonline) Both are from [[gem-pro|*gastiz]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) also the source of Dutch and German Gast and Gothic gasts “stranger, guest”,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*gʰóstis|alt=*ghos-ti-|t=stranger, guest, host]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) which also gave Latin hostis, earlier “stranger”, later “enemy”,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) and Old Church Slavonic gostĭ “guest”.^(Hoad 1986) According to Watkins the root sense is probably “someone with whom one has reciprocal duties of hospitality”.^(Etymonline) It is related to [[host]] and [[hostile]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English gæst, a guest, stranger or enemy, is from about 725, in Beowulf.^(Barnhart 1988) The OED's first sense, one entertained at another's house or table, is from before 1000,^(OED 1989) and gest in Middle English is probably from before 1200, in the Ancrene Riwle.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A stranger, the older sense, is now obsolete.^(OED 1989) A person staying at an inn for pay is from the late 13th century.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Old English also had cuma “stranger, guest”, literally “a comer”.^(Etymonline) A fellow or customer is from about 1394, obsolete except in dialect.^(OED 1989) A parasite animal or plant is from 1864,^(OED 1989) and an occasional performer not of the regular company from 1900.^(OED 1989) The verb, to receive as a guest, is from the early 14th century,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and to appear as a guest performer from 1936 in American English.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Be my guest'', go ahead, is from 1955.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In Scotland and the north of England a guest could also be a ghost or spectre.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English gæst.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * a. 1200 – Middle English gest.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 13th century – a paying guest.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * early 14th century – verb, to receive as a guest.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1900 – a guest performer.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1936 – verb, to appear as a guest.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1955 – ''be my guest''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who is given hospitality at another's home or table, or at a party.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A person who pays for a room or meals at a [[hotel]] or [[restaurant]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A visiting performer or participant: ''a guest on the show''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # An animal or plant that lives as a parasite on another.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To appear as a guest performer.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To entertain as a guest.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[guestless]]

+ * [[guesthouse]]

+ * [[guestlist]]

+ * [[houseguest]]

+ * [[guest of honor]]

+ * [[guest room]]

+ * [[guest worker]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[host]]

+ * [[hostile]]

+ * [[hospitality]]

+ * [[xenophobia]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}