Where does “hostage” come from?
Hostage comes from Old French hostage, which denoted a person held as security for the fulfillment of an agreement.
hostage (English): A person given as a pledge or security for the...
Definitions
- A person given as a pledge or security for the...
Ancestry of “hostage”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | hostage | — |
| 2 | Old French | hostage | hostage |
| 3 | Old French | hoste | Alternative form of oste; host |
| 4 | Latin | hostis | an enemy of the state, a hostile, a stranger; the... |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | hostis | stranger, guest |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | gʰóstis | stranger, host |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -tis | Derives abstract/action nouns from verb roots |