English
host plant
From host + plant.
Proto-Indo-European *gʰóstipotis ‘master of guests’
Proto-Italic *hostipotis
Latin hospes ‘a host’
Old French oste ‘innkeeper’
Middle English hoste
English host
Latin planta ‘sprout, shoot, cutting’
Proto-West Germanic *plantu ‘plant’
Old English plante ‘young tree or shrub’
Middle English plante
English plant
Today it means
noun A plant that supplies food resources and substrate for certain insects or other fauna.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / host plant