Etymology

hostess

host·ess
H4O1S1T1E1S1S1

Today it means: A female host. Full definition →

Middle English hostesse ← Middle French hostesse ← Old French ostesce
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The story

  1. Old French · derived fromostesce
  2. Middle French · derived fromhostesse
  3. Middle English · inherited fromhostesse
  4. English todayhostess

From Middle English hostesse, from Middle French hostesse, from Old French ostesce, made up of oste (“host”) + -esce (“feminine marker”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.