However, the word itself can be interpreted to mean different things based upon context, author and period of writing/speaking, signifying such divergent concepts as 'enemy' or 'stranger', a particular hostile interpretation, all the way to 'guest friend', one of the most hallowed concepts in the cultural rules of Greek hospitality.
Xenos can be translated both to 'foreigner' (in the sense of a person from another Greek state) and to a foreigner or traveler brought into a relationship of long-distance friendship.
Xenos generally refers to the variety of what a particular individual can be, specifically guest, host, stranger, friend, and, as previously mentioned, foreigner.
The ambiguity of the meaning of xenos is not a modern misunderstanding, but was, in fact, present in ancient Greece.
In this usage it is commonly translated as 'guest-friend' to distinguish it from the Greek word philos, which was used to refer to local friends and to relatives not strictly bound by xenia.