hostress

noun

"hostress" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hostress” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A female host.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hostress · hostress · English

hostress · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "H" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for hostress
PropertyValue
Headwordhostress
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “hostress” in English

hostresssits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

hostress is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A female host.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for hostress, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hoostresse; equivalent to host + -ress. The correct English form is hostress, spelled H-O-S-T-R-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A female host.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how hostress appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. By this time, mine hostress set before us our dish of herrings, which, with oatmeal cakes, potatoes, and buttermilk, furnished one of the heartiest dinners I ever ate;
  2. To the health, happiness and longevity of His Excellency Marshal Kim Il-song and of Madame Kim Il-song, to the health of the esteemed Korean hosts and hostresses, to the health of His Excellency Minister Abdelaziz Bouteflika and other Algerian personages, to the health of the honourable members of the corps and their wives;

Etymology

From Middle English hoostresse; equivalent to host + -ress.

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hostress"?
"hostress" is spelled H-O-S-T-R-E-S-S.
What does "hostress" mean?
As a noun, "hostress" means: A female host.
What is the origin of the word "hostress"?
From Middle English hoostresse; equivalent to host + -ress. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list