Re: GROUPLANG: optional features and case

Christophe Grandsire wrote:
>         I agree with you. I wonder where this comes from.
According to my handy Dictionary of Word Origins, OF _hoste_ came from
Latin _hospes_ (gen. _hospitis_), which had the same meaning, is
believed to be derived from _hostis_ (source of _host_ in the sense of
large army), which comes from PIE *ghostis, stranger.  *Ghostis is also
the source of Germanic *gastiz, source of English _guest_, and Greek
_xe'nos_.  I can see how stranger could acquire the meaning of "guest",
but "host" is a less obvious derivation.

A similar case is the word _give_, which may be related to the Latin
_habere_, to have.  Speaking of _give_, I was under the impression that
/g/ regularly changed to /j/ before front vowels, so why isn't it "yive"
or something similar?
=20
>         I've thought of another thing that is peculiar: the feminine fo=
rm of
> 'h=F4te': 'h=F4tesse' is used only with the meaning 'host', or for fema=
le people
> that welcome you in a plane or in other places. Strange, isn't it?
Very odd!

--=20
"It's bad manners to talk about ropes in the house of a man whose father
was hanged." - Irish proverb
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