hostler
/ˈ(h)ɑs.lɚ/noun
hostler is spelled H-O-S-T-L-E-R: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 42 million words in written English, the 199,120th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, hostler means “A worker employed at an inn, hostelry, or stable to look after horses” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of hostler is hostlers.
How many letters and syllables are in hostler?
| Letters | 7: H-O-S-T-L-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 42 million words; the 199,120th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is hostler?
Hostler appears about once in every 42 million words in written English, the 199,120th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce hostler?
- UK /ˈ(h)ɒs.lə/
- US /ˈ(h)ɑs.lɚ/
Hostler has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-hostler.ogg, En-us-hostler-2.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with hostler?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as hostler from its last stressed vowel (/ɑsləɹ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: holster.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of hostler
- hostlers plural
- ostler
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hostler mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A worker employed at an inn, hostelry, or stable to look after horses.
- 2
USA railway worker employed to care for a locomotive or other large engine; especially, a yard jockey.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hostler in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense person at an inn who looks after horses:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | palefrenier |
| German | Stalljunge, Stallknecht |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does hostler come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).