hostesse

See also: hôtesse

English

Noun

hostesse (plural hostesses)

1. Obsolete spelling of hostess.
   • c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 49, column 2:

     Fal. Thou ſay'ſt true Lad: is not my Hoſteſſe of the Tauerne a moſt ſweet Wench? / Prin. As is the hony, my old Lad of the Caſtle: and is not a Buffe Ierkin a moſt ſweet robe of durance?

French

Noun

hostesse f (plural hostesses)

1. obsolete spelling of hôtesse

See also

• hoste

Middle English

Alternative forms

• hoosteesse, hoostresse, hostes, oostesse, ostesce, ostesse
• hostes, ostes, ostys (Late Middle English)

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French ostesse; by surface analysis, hoste (“host”) +‎ -esse (“-ess”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌɔːˈstɛs(ə)/, /ˈɔːstɛs(ə)/

Noun

hostesse (plural hostesses)

1. hostess (woman hosting visitors at home)
2. hostess (female innkeeper)

Descendants

• English: hostess
• Middle Scots: hostes (hapax)

References

• “hōstes(se, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Middle French

Noun

hostesse f (plural hostesses)

1. hostess

See also

• hoste

Old French

Noun

hostesse oblique singular, f (oblique plural hostesses, nominative singular hostesse, nominative plural hostesses)

1. alternative form of ostesce