Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “houseguest” come from?

houseguest (English) comes from English guest, from Middle English gest, from Old Norse gestr, from Proto-Norse ᚷᚨᛊᛏᛁᛉ, from Proto-Germanic gastiz, from Proto-Indo-European gʰóstis, from Proto-Indo-European -tis — Derives abstract/action nouns from verb roots.

houseguest (English): A person who visits and stays at someone else's...

Definitions

  1. A person who visits and stays at someone else's...

Ancestry of “houseguest”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishguestA recipient of hospitality, especially someone...
2Middle EnglishgestA guest, visitor; somebody staying at another's...
3Old Norsegestrguest
4Proto-Norseᚷᚨᛊᛏᛁᛉguest
5Proto-Germanicgastizstranger, guest
6Proto-Indo-Europeangʰóstisstranger, host
7Proto-Indo-European-tisDerives abstract/action nouns from verb roots
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tis →