How the word ‘hostage’ used to mean something quite different to its modern definition, as the Israel-Gaza war rumbles on
about 5 months ago (12/10/2023)
Opinion | How the word ‘hostage’ used to mean something quite different to its modern definition, as the Israel-Gaza war rumbles on | South China Morning Post Advertisement Advertisement Hostages who were abducted by Hamas gunmen during the October 7 attack on Israel are handed over by militants to the International Red Cross in an unknown location in the Gaza Strip on November 30, 2023. We look at how the meaning of the word “hostage” has changed over time. Photo: Reuters Opinion Language Matters by Lisa Lim Language Matters by Lisa Lim How the word ‘hostage’ used to mean something quite different to its modern definition, as the Israel-Gaza war rumbles on The word ‘hostage’ has complex semantics, with its meaning in 13th century Old French encompassing kindness and hospitality The frequency of the word’s usage declined from the late 18th century, but started increasing from the 1970s due to several occurrences of hostage situations Lisa Lim + FOLLOW Published: 2:15pm, 10 Dec, 2023 Why you can trust SCMP The world is now all too familiar with the meaning of a hostage – a person seized by force, and held as security, in order to force other parties to comply with the taker’s demands.