Host

Host (masculine) and hostess (feminine) most often refer to a person responsible for guests at an event or providing hospitality during it, or to an event's presenter or master or mistress of ceremonies. Host or hosts may also refer to:

• Host (biology), an organism harboring another organism or organisms on or in itself
• Sacramental bread, called the host or hostia, used in Christian liturgy
• Host (psychology), personality as emphasized in treating dissociative identity disorder
• Host (radio), the presenter or announcer on a radio show
• Talk show host, a presenter of a TV or radio talk show
• Presenter, a person or organization responsible for the running of a public event
• the Maître d'hôtel (Maître d') or head waiter of a restaurant or hotel

Computing

• Host (development), a computer platform on which software development is done for a different target computer platform
• Host (network), a computer connected to the Internet or another IP-based network
  • Hosts file, a computer file to be used to store information on where to find an internet host on a computer network
  • host (Unix), a command-line Unix command
  • Internet hosting service, a service that runs Internet servers allowing organizations and individuals to serve content to the Internet
  • Virtual host, allowing several DNS names to share the same IP address
• Host (virtualization), a machine on which a virtual machine runs

Groups or formations

• Cossack hosts comprised organic and administrative subdivision of Cossacks in Imperial Russia. Host names reflected location or origin.
• Furious Host or the Wild Hunt, a European folk myth
• Heavenly host, an "army" of good angels in Heaven
  • Lord of hosts, a common epithet of the God of the Old Testament
• a great number; multitude
• (Military) an archaic word for army

Fictional military hosts

• The Hosts of Rebecca, a 1960 novel by Alexander Cordell about the Rebecca Riots
• Avenging Host, a group of characters in Marvel Comics Earth X series of comic books
• Rutan Host, fictional aliens from Doctor Who
• J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Armies and hosts of Middle-earth warfare
• Hosts (World of Darkness), fictional characters in game Werewolf: The Forsaken

People with the surname

• Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman
• Michel Host (born 1942), French writer

Titles of works

• Host (Paradise Lost album), 1999
• Host (Critters Buggin album), 1996
• Hosts (novel), a 2001 book written by American author F. Paul Wilson
• Host, a 1993 book by Peter James
• Host, the third novel in the Rogue Mage series by Faith Hunter

Other uses

• "Host", an author abbreviation in botany for Nicolaus Thomas Host
• Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County
• H.O.S.T., an influential hip-hop group in Azerbaijan

See also

• Hostess (disambiguation)
• Hosting (disambiguation)
• The Host (disambiguation)