hostler

American  

[hos-ler, os-ler] / ˈhɒs lər, ˈɒs lər /

Also ostler

noun

1. a person who takes care of horses, especially at an inn.

2. an employee who moves and services trains, buses, or other vehicles after their regular runs or who does the maintenance work on large machines.

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hostler British  

/ ˈɒslə /

noun

1. another name (esp Brit) for ostler

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Other Word Forms

• hostlership
  noun

Etymology

Origin of hostler

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; variant of hosteler

Example Sentences

The new streets-as-buildings would provide garages at every stop, making disposal of the auto as simple as flinging the reins to the hostler at the local inn.

From Time Magazine Archive

The groom or hostler, a man she had never seen, was standing in the door, eyes wide with fright.

From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry

We find him then as hostler in Chicago where he was laid up with an attack of cholera, and as he did not fully recover his strength he returned to the old home again.

From New, Old, and Forgotten Remedies: Papers by Many Writers by Anshutz, Edward Pollock

The hostler spit careful over the top of the switch and says, with one eye shut, "Like a ride?"

From Plain Mary Smith A Romance of Red Saunders by Phillips, Henry Wallace

But he kept on larfin till he was black in the face, when he fell over on to the bunk where the hostler sleeps, and in a still small voice sed, “Twins!”

From Why Lincoln Laughed by Conwell, Russell Herman