Definition of "host"

Time is like a fashionable host, / That slightly shakes his parting guest by the hand.

c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act III, scene iii]

A recent study explored the ecological variables that may contribute to bats’ propensity to harbor such zoonotic diseases by comparing them with another order of common reservoir hosts: rodents.

2013 May-June, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 193

Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola.

2013 May-June, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 193

Where you shall host.

c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act III, scene v]

CMU/TEK TCP/IP software uses an excessive amount of cpu resources for terminal support both outbound, when accessing another system, and inbound, when the local system is hosting a session.

1987 May 7, Selden E. Ball, Jr., “Re: Ethernet Terminal Concentrators”, in comp.protocols.tcp-ip (Usenet)

Why, Plugson, even thy own host is all in mutiny: Cotton is conquered; but the ‘bare backs’ — are worse covered than ever!

1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, “ch. X, Plugson of Undershot”, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, book III (The Modern Worker)

All about the hosts of Mordor raged.

1955 October 20, J[ohn] R[onald] R[euel] Tolkien, “chapter 4, The Field of Cormallen”, in The Return of the King: Being the Third Part of The Lord of the Rings […], New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, published December 1978

the invading host that had sailed from Hellas in more than one thousand ships was of an unprecedented size.

2001, Carlos Parada, Hesione 2, Greek Mythology Link

I wandered lonely as a cloudThat floats on high o'er vales and hills,When all at once I saw a crowd,A host, of golden daffodils; […]

1802, William Wordsworth, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

A short time since, some friends drinking tea one summer evening at their residence near Maidenhead, with all the windows of the drawing-room open, there suddenly burst in a host of small flies, which covered the table and the furniture […]

1836, The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction

England ran Tunisia ragged in that spell but were punished for missing a host of chances when Ferjani Sassi equalised from the penalty spot against the run of play after Kyle Walker was penalised for an elbow on Fakhreddine Ben Youssef.

2018 June 18, Phil McNulty, “Tunisia 1 – 2 England”, in BBC Sport‎, archived from the original on 21 April 2019

In the immediate term, there is a host of new operating procedures to be developed and to become familiarised with, in accordance with social distancing.

2020 July 29, Ian Prosser discusses with Paul Stephen, “Rail needs robust and strategic plans”, in Rail, page 38

Do you pray to the Holy Ghost when you suck your host? / Do you read who's dead in the Irish Post?

1978, John Lydon (lyrics and music), “Religion II”, performed by Public Image Ltd.