# Hostler

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{{Short description|Transport worker, either caretaker of horses or yard jockey}}
thumb|1827 drawing of an ostler at Keston Cross
[[File:DV271 Hastler at Margam.jpg|thumb|Ostler at [Margam](/source/Margam), 1818]]
A '''hostler''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ɒ|s|l|ər}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɒ|s|l|ər}}) or '''ostler''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɒ|s|l|ər}} was traditionally a [groom](/source/groom_(profession)) or stableman who was employed in a [stable](/source/stable) to take care of [horse](/source/horse)s, usually at an [inn](/source/inn), in the era of transportation by horse or horse-drawn carriage.<ref name=Merriam>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hostler |title=Hostler – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary |publisher=Merriam-webster.com |date=2012-08-31 |access-date=2013-03-12}}</ref> In the twentieth century the word came to be used in the [railroad](/source/railroad) industry for a type of train driver in [rail yard](/source/rail_yard)s with [switcher locomotive](/source/switcher_locomotive)s<ref name=Merriam/> or a type of truck driver in similar work with [terminal tractor](/source/terminal_tractor)s.

==Etymology==
The word is spelled "hostler" in [American English](/source/American_English), but "ostler" in [British English](/source/British_English).  It traces to {{Circa|1386}}, meaning "one who [tends to horses](/source/groom_(horse)) at an [inn](/source/inn)"—and also, occasionally, "[innkeeper](/source/innkeeper)"—is derived from [Anglo-French](/source/Anglo-Norman_language) ''hostiler'' (modern [French](/source/French_language) {{lang|fr|hostelier}}), itself from [Medieval Latin](/source/Medieval_Latin) {{lang|la|hostilarius}} "the monk who entertains guests at a monastery", from ''hospitale'' "inn" (compare [hospital](/source/hospital), [hospitaller](/source/Health_professional), [hospitality](/source/hospitality)).<ref name=Etymology>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=hostler&searchmode=none EtymologyOnLine – Hostler]</ref>  A similar word, {{Lang|es|hostelero}} (innkeeper, the one that took care of a [hostal](/source/hostal)), exists in [Spanish](/source/Spanish_language).

==Modern uses==
According to the ''[Dictionary of Occupational Titles](/source/Dictionary_of_Occupational_Titles)'', an ostler in motor transportation is a type of [truck driver](/source/truck_driver) who directs trucks or tractors at vehicle parking or docking areas to move, position, or park trucks or trailers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.occupationalinfo.org/90/909663010.html |title=909.663-010: HOSTLER (motor trans.) alternate titles: hook-up driver; yard spotter |work=Dictionary Of Occupational Titles |access-date=2013-01-20}}</ref> In the [United States railroad industry](/source/Rail_transport_in_the_United_States) a hostler is a [train driver](/source/train_driver), a type of railroad engineer who moves locomotives in and out of service facilities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.occupationalinfo.org/91/910683010.html |title=910.683-010: HOSTLER (r.r. trans.) |work=Dictionary Of Occupational Titles |access-date=2013-01-20}}</ref><ref name=blsgov>{{cite web |title=Rail Transportation Occupations |url=http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos244.htm|publisher=Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor| access-date=19 February 2011}}</ref>

==See also==
* [Teamster](/source/Teamster)
* [Groom (profession)](/source/Groom_(profession))

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|hostler|ostler}}

Category:Horse-related professions and professionals
Category:Horse management
Category:Archaic English words and phrases
Category:Rail transport operations
Category:Transport occupations

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hostler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostler) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostler?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.