Etymology of the English word hostage
the English word
hostagederived from the Old French word
hostagederived from the Old French word
hostederived from the Late Latin word
hospes (host; guest, visitor; of relation between host and guest; that hosts; that guests)
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*ghos-ti-derived from the Latin word
hostis (enemy; stranger, foreigner)
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*ghos-ti-derived from the Late Latin word
obsidiatusderived from the Classical Latin word
sedere (sit, remain; settle)
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*sed-Date
The earliest known usage of hostage in English dates from the 13th century.
Usage
Word found in Modern English
