The Latin enemy-as-victim word hostia is feminine and means sacrifice

Evidence

Often feminized-the war of the sexes would have to be rewritten, perhaps, from the perspective of a history of the enemy (as if it were possible)-the enemy is not a man, but a woman, and may be called hostia, in which case, the victim is “the victim which serves to appease,” compenser, “the anger of the gods,” an offering, in other words. — Gil Anidjar, The Jew, the Arab, 415 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The feminine form hostia turns the enemy into a sacrificial victim — Gil Anidjar, The Jew, the Arab: A History of the…, 415; The Latin hostis originally meant stranger before meaning public enemy — Gil Anidjar, The Jew, the Arab: A History of the…, 382; Crusade ideology gendered the Orient as a helpless female needing male rescue — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1024

Broader Connections

• The feminine form hostia turns the enemy into a sacrificial victim #expands (0.95) — Gil Anidjar, The Jew, the Arab, 415