Etymograph

English

guest

Guest comes from Middle English gest ‘a guest’, from Old Norse gestr, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *gastiz ‘stranger’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰóstis1named in Wiktionary’s etymology text · steps between not traced
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gastiz2‘stranger’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Norsec. 200–800 CE*gastiz1reconstructed
  4. Old Norsec. 800–1350gestr1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gest1‘a guest’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1608guest1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English guest
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old Norse gestr
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1608, Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas, Du Bartas His Deuine Weekes and Workes […]: “Two Angels sent Two Heav'nly Scowts the Lord to…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰóstisWiktionary, English guestnamed in Wiktionary’s etymology text · steps between not traced
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gastizWiktionary, Old Norse gestr‘stranger’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Norsec. 200–800 CE*gastizWiktionary, English guestreconstructed
  4. Old Norsec. 800–1350gestrWiktionary, English guest
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gestWiktionary, English guest‘a guest’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1608guestWiktionary, English guest. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1608, Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas, Du Bartas His Deuine Weekes and Workes […]: “Two Angels sent Two Heav'nly Scowts the Lord to…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with guest, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *gʰes- ‘to eat’

  • hostile ← hostīlis ← hostis ← *hostis ← *gʰóstis
  • hostility ← hostilitie ← hostilité ← hostīlitās ← hostilis

through Proto-Indo-European *gʰóstis ‘stranger, guest’

  • host ← oost ← ost ← hostis ← *hostis
  • xenon ← ξένος ← *ksénwos
  • xenia ← ξενῐ́ᾱ ← ξένος ← *ksénwos

16 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun A recipient of hospitality, especially someone staying by invitation at the house of another.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “guest”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old Norse gestr. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʰóstis / guest