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Webster 1913 Edition

Hostler

Hos′tler

,
Noun.
[OE.
hosteler
,
osteler
, innkeeper, OF.
hostelier
, F.
hôtelier
. See
Hostel
, and cf.
Hospitaler
,
Hosteler
.]
1.
An innkeeper.
[Obs.]
See
Hosteler
.
2.
The person who has the care of horses at an inn or stable; hence, any one who takes care of horses; a groom; – so called because the innkeeper formerly attended to this duty in person.
3.
(Railroad)
The person who takes charge of a locomotive when it is left by the engineer after a trip.

Webster 1828 Edition

Hostler

HOS'TLER

,
Noun.
hos'ler. The person who has the care of horses at an inn.

Definition 2024

hostler

hostler

English

Alternative forms

Noun

hostler ‎(plural hostlers)

  1. A person employed at an inn, hostelry, or stable to look after horses; a groom
  2. (by extension) A person employed to care for a locomotive or other large engine.

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Etymology

Syncopated form of hosteler, from Middle French hostiler, from Old French hostelier, from Latin hostilarius, from hospitalarius, from hospitale "inn", from hospitālis "hospitable", from hospes "host, guest". Both hostler and its alternate form "ostler" originally meant simply "innkeeper", and acquired a specific association with horses in the second half of the 14th century.

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