hostler
/ˈ(h)ɑs.lɚ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.38 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A railway worker employed to care for a locomotive or other large engine; especially, a yard jockey.
American usage
name
A surname.
Example Sentences
- "As the chaise drove through Clavering, the hostler standing whistling under the archway of the Clavering Arms, winked the postilion ominously, as much as to say all was over."
- "The employees contend that inasmuch as there are seven engines hostled at Sleepy Eye within a 12-hour period, a hostler from the ranks of the firemen must be assigned […]"
Etymology
From Middle English hostiler, from Middle French hostiler, from Old French hostelier, from Medieval Latin hostilārius, hospitālārius, from hospitāle "inn", from hospitālis "hospitable", from hospes "host, guest". Both hostler and its alternative form ostler originally meant simply "innkeeper", and acquired a specific association with horses in the second half of the 14th century. Doublet of hosteler and hotelier.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: hostiler, hostelier, hostilārius
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈ(h)ɑs.lɚ/
- British English: /ˈ(h)ɒs.lə/
Usage
- American usage