Etymograph

English

hospitable

Hospitable comes from Latin hospitor ‘to be a guest or lodger’, from Proto-Italic *hostipotis ‘host’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰóstipotis ‘lord, master’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰóstipotis1‘lord, master’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hostipotis1‘host’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhospes2‘guest’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhospitor3as hospitare‘to be a guest or lodger’
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600hospitable3
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1864hospitable3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin hospes
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin hospitor
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English hospitable
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1864, – 1865 November, The Golden Dustman Falls into Worse Company: “"And you come, brother," said Mr. Wegg, in a…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰóstipotisWiktionary, Latin hospes‘lord, master’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hostipotisWiktionary, Latin hospes‘host’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhospesWiktionary, Latin hospitor‘guest’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhospitorWiktionary, English hospitableas hospitare‘to be a guest or lodger’
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600hospitableWiktionary, English hospitable
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1864hospitableWiktionary, English hospitable. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1864, – 1865 November, The Golden Dustman Falls into Worse Company: “"And you come, brother," said Mr. Wegg, in a…”

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *hostipotis ‘host’

hostage, hostel, hostess, hotelier, 11 more

through Latin hospes ‘guest’

hotel, host, 15 more

Today it means

adj cordial and generous towards guests

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “hospitable”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin hospes, Latin hospitor. 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 *gʰóstipotis / hospitable

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