guesswork

[Eng. gue , and work. ] Work performed by mere gue or at random; gue ing, conjecture. guest, *gest, *geste, *gist, s . [A. S. gæst , gest , gast , gist , giest ; cogn. with Icel. gest i ; Dan. giest ; Sw.gäst ; Dan.gast ; Goth. gasts ; Ger. gast , all=a guest; Lat. host is a stranger, a guest, an enemy, from a root ghan =to strike.] 1. A person received and entertained in the house or at the table of another, whether by invitation or otherwise; one who lodges or resides temporarily at an hotel or lodging-house. "Lochiel, surrounded by more than six hundred broadswords, was there to receive his quests."-Macaulay: Hist. Eng ., ch. xiii. 2092 2. Any person, thing, or being temporarily residing, living, or placed in another. "Go, soul, the body's guest." Sir Walter Raleigh: The Lie.