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Ahostler (/ˈhɒslər/ or/ˈɒslər/) orostler/ˈɒslər/ was traditionally agroom or stableman who was employed in astable to take care ofhorses, usually at aninn, in the era of transportation by horse or horse-drawn carriage.[1] In the twentieth century the word came to be used in therailroad industry for a type of train driver inrail yards withswitcher locomotives[1] or a type of truck driver in similar work withterminal tractors.
The word is spelled "hostler" inAmerican English, but "ostler" inBritish English. It traces toc. 1386, meaning "one whotends to horses at aninn"—and also, occasionally, "innkeeper"—is derived fromAnglo-Frenchhostiler (modernFrenchhostelier), itself fromMedieval Latinhostilarius "the monk who entertains guests at a monastery", fromhospitale "inn" (comparehospital,hospitaller,hospitality).[2] A similar word,hostelero (innkeeper, the one that took care of ahostal), exists inSpanish.
According to theDictionary of Occupational Titles, an ostler in motor transportation is a type oftruck driver who directs trucks or tractors at vehicle parking or docking areas to move, position, or park trucks or trailers.[3] In theUnited States railroad industry a hostler is atrain driver, a type of railroad engineer who moves locomotives in and out of service facilities.[4][5]
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