Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. One who is employed to tend horses, especially at an inn.
- n. One who services a large vehicle or engine, such as a locomotive.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Same as hosteler, 1.
- n. The person who has the care of horses at an inn; a stable-boy; a groom.
Wiktionary
- n. A person employed at an inn, hostelry, or stable to look after horses; a groom
- n. A person employed to care for a locomotive or other large engine.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. An innkeeper. [Obs.] See hosteler.
- n. 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.
- n. The person who takes charge of a locomotive when it is left by the engineer after a trip.
WordNet 3.0
- n. someone employed in a stable to take care of the horses
Etymologies
- Middle English, from Anglo-Norman hostiler, from Old French hostel, lodging; see hostel.
Examples
“The antiquary, that is, the hostler of the posthouse at Spoleto, tells you that his town repulsed the victorious enemy, and shows you the gate still called _Porta di”
“As he dismounted, a hostler came out of the stable across the street”
“He paid the bill, watched as the hostler saddled his mount, and then rode out”
“Here we stopped, turning our horses over to the attention of a hostler, who moved so slowly as to seem ossified.”
“Ay, Dougal!" shouted a tattered hostler, running up to grab the halter of the lead horse.”
“Faster than some contemporary hostler can rustle up fresh horses or the unseen manager can replace fleeing steeds who take legal tender while tending behind the isthmus separating employee from customer.”
When Is a Bar Not a Bar? : Edward Champion’s Reluctant Habits
“She prosecuted her trade too with every attention to its diminished income; shut up the windows of one half of her house, to baffle the tax-gatherer; retrenched her furniture; discharged her pair of post-horses, and pensioned off the old humpbacked postilion who drove them, retaining his services, however, as an assistant to a still more aged hostler.”
“Oliver and Sikes got in without any further ceremony; and the man to whom he belonged, having lingered for a minute or two ‘to bear him up,’ and to defy the hostler and the world to produce his equal, mounted also.”
“Then, the hostler was told to give the horse his head; and, his head being given him, he made a very unpleasant use of it: tossing it into the air with great disdain, and running into the parlour windows over the way; after performing those feats, and supporting himself for a short time on his hind – legs, he started off at great speed, and rattled out of the town right gallantly.”
“Grinder delivered the white – legged horse to the hostler of a quaint stable at the corner; and inviting Mrs Brown and her daughter to seat themselves upon a stone bench at the gate of that establishment, soon reappeared from a neighbouring public – house with a pewter measure and a glass.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘hostler’.
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At Your Service
Servants who are traditionally male. Inspired by hernesheir's maids list (as well as Downton Abbey)
footman, chasseur, hurkaru, chobdar, lackey, jeames, manservant, pantryman, groom, palefrenier, coistrel, ostler and 70 more...
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