Hostess-ship Host"ess-ship noun The character, personality, or office of a hostess. Shak.

Hostie Hos"tie noun [ French See 1st Host .] The consecrated wafer; the host. [ Obsolete] Bp. Burnet.

Hostile Hos"tile adjective [ Latin hostilis , from hostis enemy: confer French hostile . See Host an army.] Belonging or appropriate to an enemy; showing the disposition of an enemy; showing ill will and malevolence, or a desire to thwart and injure; occupied by an enemy or enemies; inimical; unfriendly; as, a hostile force; hostile intentions; a hostile country; hostile to a sudden change.

Syn. -- Warlike; inimical; unfriendly; antagonistic; opposed; adverse; opposite; contrary; repugnant.

Hostile Hos"tile noun An enemy; esp., an American Indian in arms against the whites; -- commonly in the plural. [ Colloq.] P. H. Sheridan.

Hostilely Hos"tile·ly adverb In a hostile manner.

Hostility Hos·til"i·ty noun ; plural Hostilities . [ Latin hostilitas : confer French hostilité .] 1. State of being hostile; public or private enemy; unfriendliness; animosity.

Hostility being thus suspended with France.

Hayward.

2. An act of an open enemy; a hostile deed; especially in the plural, acts of warfare; attacks of an enemy.

We have showed ourselves generous adversaries . . . and have carried on even our hostilities with humanity.

Atterbury.

He who proceeds to wanton hostility , often provokes an enemy where he might have a friend.

Crabb.

Syn. -- Animosity; enmity; opposition; violence; aggression; contention; warfare.

Hostilize Hos"til·ize transitive verb To make hostile; to cause to become an enemy. [ Obsolete] A. Seward.

Hosting Host"ing noun [ From Host an army.] [ Obsolete] 1. An encounter; a battle. "Fierce hosting ." Milton.

2. A muster or review. Spenser.

Hostler Hos"tler noun [ Middle English hosteler , osteler , innkeeper, Old French hostelier , French hôtelier . See Hostel , and confer Hospitaler , Hosteler .] 1. An innkeeper. [ Obsolete] See Hosteler .

2. The person who has the care of horses at an inn or stable; hence, any one who takes care of horses; a groom; - - so called because the innkeeper formerly attended to this duty in person.

3. (Railroad) The person who takes charge of a locomotive when it is left by the engineer after a trip.

Hostless Host"less adjective Inhospitable. [ Obsolete] "A hostless house." Spenser.

Hostry Host"ry noun [ Middle English hosterie , osterie , Old French hosterie . See Host a landlord.] 1. A hostelry; an inn or lodging house. [ Obsolete] Marlowe.

2. A stable for horses. [ Obsolete] Johnson.

Hot Hot imperfect & past participle of Hote . [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Hot Hot adjective [ Compar. Hotter ; superl. Hottest .] [ Middle English hot , hat , Anglo-Saxon hāt ; akin to Old Saxon hēt , Dutch heet , Old High German heiz , German heiss , Icelandic heitr , Swedish het , Danish heed , hed ; confer Goth. heitō fever, hais torch. Confer Heat .] 1. Having much sensible heat; exciting the feeling of warmth in a great degree; very warm; -- opposed to cold , and exceeding warm in degree; as, a hot stove; hot water or air. "A hot venison pasty." Shak.

2. Characterized by heat, ardor, or animation; easily excited; firely; vehement; passionate; violent; eager.

Achilles is impatient, hot , and revengeful.

Dryden.

There was mouthing in hot haste.

Byron.

3. Lustful; lewd; lecherous. Shak.

4. Acrid; biting; pungent; as, hot as mustard.

Hot bed (Iron Manuf.) , an iron platform in a rolling mill, on which hot bars, rails, etc., are laid to cool. -- Hot wall (Gardening) , a wall provided with flues for the conducting of heat, to hasten the growth of fruit trees or the ripening of fruit. -- Hot well (Condensing Engines) , a receptacle for the hot water drawn from the condenser by the air pump. This water is returned to the boiler, being drawn from the hot well by the feed pump. -- In hot water (Fig.), in trouble; in difficulties. [ Colloq.]

Syn. -- Burning; fiery; fervid; glowing; eager; animated; brisk; vehement; precipitate; violent; furious; ardent; fervent; impetuous; irascible; passionate; hasty; excitable.

Hot blast Hot" blast` See under Blast .

Hot bulb, Hot pot Hot bulb, Hot pot (Internal-combustion Engines) See Semi-diesel , below.

Hot-blooded Hot"-blood`ed adjective Having hot blood; excitable; high-spirited; irritable; ardent; passionate.

Hot-brained Hot"-brained` adjective Ardent in temper; violent; rash; impetuous; as, hot-brained youth. Dryden.

Hot-head Hot"-head` noun A violent, passionate person; a hasty or impetuous person; as, the rant of a hot-head .

Hot-headed Hot"-head`ed adjective Fiery; violent; rash; hasty; impetuous; vehement. Macaulay.

Hot-livered Hot"-liv`ered adjective Of an excitable or irritable temperament; irascible. Milton.

Hot-mouthed Hot"-mouthed` adjective Headstrong.

That hot-mouthed beast that bears against the curb.

Dryden.

Hot-short Hot"-short` adjective (Metal.) More or less brittle when heated; as, hot-short iron.

Hot-short Hot"-short` adjective [ Confer Cold-short .] (Metal.) Brittle when heated, esp. beyond a red heat; as, hot-short iron.

Hot-spirited Hot"-spir`it·ed adjective Having a fiery spirit; hot-headed.

Hotbed Hot"bed` noun 1. (Gardening) A bed of earth heated by fermenting manure or other substances, and covered with glass, intended for raising early plants, or for nourishing exotics.

2. A place which favors rapid growth or development; as, a hotbed of sedition.

Hotchkiss gun Hotch"kiss gun [ After Benjamin B. Hotchkiss (1826-85), American inventor.] A built-up, rifled, rapid-fire gun of oil-tempered steel, having a rectangular breechblock which moves horizontally or vertically in a mortise cut completely through the jacket. It is made in France.

Hotchpot, Hotchpotch Hotch"pot`, Hotch"potch` noun [ French hochepot , from hocher to shake + pot pot; both of Dutch or German origin; confer OD. hutspot hotchpotch, Dutch hotsen , hutsen , to shake. See Hustle , and Pot , and confer Hodgepodge .] 1. A mingled mass; a confused mixture; a stew of various ingredients; a hodgepodge.

A mixture or hotchpotch of many tastes.

Bacon.

2. (Law) A blending of property for equality of division, as when lands given in frank-marriage to one daughter were, after the death of the ancestor, blended with the lands descending to her and to her sisters from the same ancestor, and then divided in equal portions among all the daughters. In modern usage, a mixing together, or throwing into a common mass or stock, of the estate left by a person deceased and the amounts advanced to any particular child or children, for the purpose of a more equal division, or of equalizing the shares of all the children; the property advanced being accounted for at its value when given. Bouvier. Tomlins.

» This term has been applied in cases of salvage. Story . It corresponds in a measure with collation in the civil and Scotch law. See Collation . Bouvier. Tomlins.

Hotcockles Hot"coc`kles noun [ Hot + cockle , cockle being perhaps corrupt. from knuckle . Confer French main chaude (lit., hot hand) hotcockles.] A childish play, in which one covers his eyes, and guesses who strikes him or his hand placed behind him.

Hote Hote transitive verb & i. [ present & imperfect Hatte , Hot etc.; past participle Hote , Hoten Hot , etc. See Hight , Hete .] 1. To command; to enjoin. [ Obsolete] Piers Plowman.

2. To promise. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

3. To be called; to be named. [ Obsolete]

There as I was wont to hote Arcite,
Now hight I Philostrate, not worth a mite.

Chaucer.

Hotel Ho·tel" noun [ French hôtel , Old French hostel . See Hostel .] 1. A house for entertaining strangers or travelers; an inn or public house, of the better class.

2. In France, the mansion or town residence of a person of rank or wealth.

Hôtel-de-ville Hôtel`-de-ville" noun [ French] A city hall or townhouse.

Hôtel-Dieu Hôtel`-Dieu" noun [ French] A hospital.

Hoten Hot"en past participle of Hote .

Hotfoot Hot"foot` adverb In haste; foothot. [ Colloq.]

Hothouse Hot"house` noun 1. A house kept warm to shelter tender plants and shrubs from the cold air; a place in which the plants of warmer climates may be reared, and fruits ripened.

2. A bagnio, or bathing house. [ Obsolete] Shak.

3. A brothel; a bagnio. [ Obsolete] B. Jonson.

4. (Pottery) A heated room for drying green ware.

Hotly Hot"ly adverb [ From Hot , adjective ] 1. In a hot or fiery manner; ardently; vehemently; violently; hastily; as, a hotly pursued.

2. In a lustful manner; lustfully. Dryden.

Hotness Hot"ness noun 1. The quality or state of being hot.

2. Heat or excitement of mind or manner; violence; vehemence; impetuousity; ardor; fury. M. Arnold.

Hotpress Hot"press` transitive verb To apply heat to, in conjunction with mechanical pressure, for the purpose of giving a smooth and glossy surface, or to express oil, etc.; as, to hotpress paper, linen, etc.

Hotpressed Hot"pressed` adjective Pressed while heat is applied. See Hotpress , transitive verb

Hotspur Hot"spur` noun [ Hot + spur .] A rash, hot-headed man. Holinshed.

Hotspur, Hotspurred Hot"spur`, Hot"spurred` adjective Violent; impetuous; headstrong. Spenser. Peacham.

Hottentot Hot"ten·tot noun [ Dutch Hottentot ; -- so called from hot and tot , two syllables of frequent occurrence in their language. Wedgwood. ] 1. (Ethnol.) One of a degraded and savage race of South Africa, with yellowish brown complexion, high cheek bones, and wooly hair growing in tufts.

2. The language of the Hottentots, which is remarkable for its clicking sounds.

Hottentot cherry (Botany) , a South African plant of the genus Cassine ( C. maurocenia ), having handsome foliage, with generally inconspicuous white or green flowers. Loudon. -- Hottentot's bread . (Botany) See Elephant's foot (a) , under Elephant .

Hottentotism Hot"ten·tot·ism noun A term employed to describe one of the varieties of stammering. Tylor.

Houdah Hou"dah noun See Howdah .

Hough Hough noun Same as Hock , a joint.

Hough Hough transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Houghed ; present participle & verbal noun Houghing .] Same as Hock , to hamstring.

Hough Hough noun [ Confer Dutch hak . Confer Hack .] An adz; a hoe. [ Obsolete] Bp. Stillingfleet.

Hough Hough transitive verb To cut with a hoe. [ Obsolete] Johnson.

Houlet Hou"let noun (Zoology) An owl. See Howlet .

Hoult Hoult noun A piece of woodland; a small wood. [ Obsolete] See Holt .

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