wirt

From Middle High German wirt, wiert, wurt, wert, from Old High German wirt (“host”), from Proto-Germanic *werduz. Cognate with English ward, Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌳𐌿𐍃 (wairdus), Dutch waard, Danish vært and Swedish värd. The sense “caretaker; someone responsible”, which is found in compounds, developed from the sense of “host; innkeeper” due to the latter's responsibilities for his guests. However, in many cases this use is based on a backformation from Wirtschaft (“economy”), particularly in academic titl