Etymology

cp. OIcel gestr ‘guest, stranger’ without palatalization of /ɡ/ < PGmc *gastiz (cp. early runic gastiʀ); cp. OE (WS) giest, gist, gyst, (Angl.) gest, Go gasts, OFris jest, OS, OHG gast. ME SWM spellings like <gist> and <gust> are moreover best explained as showing the influence of Norse-derived initial /ɡ/- on native forms of the WS type with palatal diphthongization; all ME forms including gest could be regarded as ‘Scandinavianized’ variants of the OE word rather than ‘loans’ per se, though the results would be identical in Angl. areas.

PGmc Ancestor

*gastiz 

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

gestr ‘guest, stranger’ 
(ONP gestr (sb.))

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

PrN runic -gastiʀ, Far gestur, Icel gestur, Norw gjest, Dan gæst, Sw gäst

OE Cognate

(WS) giest, gist, gyst, (Angl) gest 'guest'

Phonological and morphological markers

absence of palatalization of */ɡ/

Summary category

A1*

Attestation

Widespread from early ME; it is difficult to judge the evidence of the spelling of the initial consonant in late OE and some 12c texts.

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

Gaw 921, 1024, 1036 etc.; Pe 277; Cl 98, 641, 830 etc.; WA 460, 485, 497 etc.

Bibliography

MED gest (n.) , OED guest (n.) , HTOED , Dance gest, Bj. 152-3, de Vries gestr, Mag gestur, Bj-L. gjest, Orel *ʒastiz, Kroonen *gasti-, AEW giest