hostess
English
Etymology
(deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English hostesse, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle French hostesse, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French ostesce, made up of oste (“host”) + -esce (“feminine marker”).
Pronunciation
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 331: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "GA" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ˈhoʊstəs/
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 331: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "RP" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ˈhəʊstəs/
Audio (US): (file) - Hyphenation: host‧ess
Noun
hostess (plural hostesses, masculine host)
- A female host.
- The host and hostess greeted their guests at the door.
- 2013 August 10, Lexington, “Keeping the mighty honest”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:
- The [Washington] Post's proprietor through those turbulent [Watergate] days, Katharine Graham, held a double place in Washington’s hierarchy: at once regal Georgetown hostess and scrappy newshound, ready to hold the establishment to account.
- A female innkeeper.
- Stewardess: a woman steward on an airplane.
- A bar hostess or bargirl; a paid female companion offering conversation and in some cases sex.
Derived terms
Translations
female host
|
female innkeeper
stewardess
|
bargirl (a female companion)
Verb
hostess (third-person singular simple present hostesses, present participle hostessing, simple past and past participle hostessed)
- To host, as a woman.
- 1975, The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi (volume 92, issue 2, page 69)
- Later in January, the alum club hostessed the initiation brunch at the Pi Beta Phi chapter house. It was thrilling to see so many girls with such enthusiasm!
- 1975, The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi (volume 92, issue 2, page 69)
Categories:
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Old French
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English verbs
- English words suffixed with -ess