Host, n.
Etymology: [OE. host, ost, OF. host, ost, fr. L. hostis enemy, LL., army. See Guest, and cf. Host a landlord.]
1. An army; a number of men gathered for war. A host so great as covered all the field. Dryden.
2. Any great number or multitude; a throng. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God. Luke ii. 13. All at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils. Wordsworth.
4 other Webster entries under this spelling
Host, n.
(R. C. Ch.)
The consecrated wafer, believed to be the body of Christ, which in the Mass is offered as a sacrifice; also, the bread before consecration.
Note: In the Latin Vulgate the word was applied to the Savior as being an offering for the sins of men.
Host, n.
One who receives or entertains another, whether gratuitosly or for compensation; one from whom another receives food, lodging, or entertainment; a landlord. Chaucer. "Fair host and Earl." Tennyson. Time is like a fashionable host, That slightly shakes his parting guest by the hand. Shak.
Host, v. t.
To give entertainment to. [Obs.] Spenser.
Host, v. i.
To lodge at an inn; to take up entertainment. [Obs.] "Where you shall host." Shak.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for host; he lists it under army, company, throng.
Where he writes about it:
Host is used for any vast and orderly assemblage; as, the stars are called the heavenly host. — from army
Host and multitude both imply vast numbers, but a multitude may be diffused over a great space so as to be nowhere a crowd; host is a military term, and properly denotes an assembly too orderly for crowding. — from throng