Why is the Eucharistic bread called a host?

[seagal]

As a cradle Catholic, this isn’t something I gave any thought to before. I’ve looked at standard definitions for the word “host” and none of them seem to apply to the bread that is used for Eucharist. I thought at first it might be that the bread serves as “host” for Jesus’ body, but since transubstantiation means the bread actually becomes the body and blood of Jesus, that doesn’t really fit.

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

The origins of the word usage goes back to word “hostis” which means “enemy.” The ancients would offer a vanquished enemy (a hostis) as a sacrifice, thus the *hostis *became a sacrificial offering.
This language was incorporated in early Latin liturgical language and simply has stuck around over the centuries.