A hostler can work in various industries, including horse, railway, and trucking. The term originated from Medieval Latin and Anglo-French, referring to monks who received guests and people who cared for horses in stables. In the US, hostlers move locomotives in rail yards, while in the trucking industry, they move trucks and trailers.
A hostler can perform a number of different jobs depending on the context, and the term has had slightly different meanings throughout history. In modern usage, hosts are employed by the horse industry as grooms and grooms, by the railway industry to move trains around a yard, and by the trucking industry to perform similar tasks on trucks and trailers. The term is commonly spelled “hostler” in the US and “ostler” in the UK, where it was originally used to refer to people who cared for horses in stables and to owners in general.
The word “hostler” can be traced back to Medieval Latin through Anglo-French and originally referred to monks who were responsible for receiving guests. This usage was extended to the Anglo-French version of the word, and the original English usage was to refer to people who looked after the horses of inn visitors and sometimes owners. Modern usage in British English generally refers to people employed in stables, such as grooms. This usage is also present in American English, although the word has also been extended to similar works in other industries.
When locomotives began to replace horses in moving certain loads in the United States, they were sometimes referred to as iron horses. Locomotives that are not in active use are usually kept in rail yards, and the people responsible for moving them between rails and repairing facilities have come to be known as hostlers. Although this is a very different occupation from a stable boy or groom, handling locomotives in a rail yard can be seen as analogous to working horses in a stable. These railway company employees are normally authorized to move locomotives within the railway yards, but not beyond.
Another modern occupation similar to the locomotive hostler has to do with the trucking industry. This industry has a lot in common with the railway industry, as it is involved in transporting goods from one place to another. Many of the vehicles used to transport goods in this industry are known as semi-trailers because they consist of a truck that can tow separate trailers. Persons responsible for moving trucks and trailers through a staging area perform a task very similar to that of railroad workers, and are sometimes referred to using that term.
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