Host and guest. "Host" (say /houst/)is a good example of how to learn an English word by always remembering that it means the exact opposite of what it looks like in
Slovak, because it doesn't mean "hosť" but "hostiteľ". The place of business which is run by a host is a hostel (lower standard of accommodation) or a hotel (higher standard). Other meanings of
host are "army" or "crowd", but also the wafer you get on your tongue during communion at mass in church.
Ironically "guest" (say /gest/) is historically linked with the Slovak "hosť" through the German word "Gast", and this is an example of the same word beginning with
either "g" or "h" depending on which language we're using. The word hospital is based on the Latin idea of a place for looking after visitors, then taking care of guests with problems, then
treating patients with illnesses. So "guest" means "hosť", and "host" means the opposite.
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