hostler

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 alternate 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.

noun

1. A person employed at an inn, hostelry, or stable to look after horses; a groom
2. (by extension) A person employed to care for a locomotive or other large engine.