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innkeeper

innkeeper

19 3.4
A person who runs a small hotel and looks after guests
  • noun
  • /ˈɪnˌkipər/
translation icon : posadero
  • I'll take a little walk and then tell the innkeeper.
  • a lady innkeeper
  • a clueless innkeeper

We'll have housekeepers on payroll, but we won't have an innkeeper.

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Examples

  • At seminars, savvy innkeepers are learning to cater to a broader market.

  • Sit yourself down And meet the best Innkeeper in town!

  • Many years ago I used to work for an innkeeper in those days.

  • "Ah no, som'at worse," said the innkeeper, who appeared suddenly behind the bar.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • How curious to grow up in a busy boardinghouse with no father, and your own mother the innkeeper.

  • What can I get for you?" The innkeeper was fat and jolly, with a white walrus mustache.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • The coachman glared until the innkeeper handed him a mug of ale.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • When she checked in, she asked the innkeeper whether the building had security.

  • The innkeeper welcomed guests with a warm smile and a hearty breakfast.

Synonyms

hostess
vsinnkeeper
  • Archaic
15 3.7

A woman who runs an inn or small hotel and welcomes guests

is the gender neutral word for the same managerial role
hotel manager
vsinnkeeper
8 3.0

A person who runs a hotel and looks after guests and staff

often implies employment rather than ownership and smaller personal hospitality
hotelier
vsinnkeeper
5 5.4

A person who owns or runs a hotel

is usually smaller scale focused on an inn's homey hospitality
tavern keeper
vsinnkeeper
1 5.5

A person who owns or runs a small bar serving food and drink

is more about running lodging and providing guest hospitality than serving drinks
mine host
vsinnkeeper
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A man who welcomes and looks after guests at an inn

is the everyday, nonliterary name for that hosting role
saloon keeper
vsinnkeeper
  • US
1 6.9

A person who owns or runs a bar

is centered on caring for guests and running lodging rather than just alcohol service
victualer
vsinnkeeper
  • Archaic
9.9

A person who runs an inn and serves guests food and drink

is the neutral general word used outside the British regional sense
boniface
vsinnkeeper
  • Archaic
9.9

A person who owns or runs an inn

is the plain descriptive word without the joking or archaic tone
innholder
vsinnkeeper
  • Archaic
9.9

A person who owns or runs an inn

is the common modern label for the same everyday role
inskeep
vsinnkeeper
  • Archaic
9.9

A person who owns or runs an inn and looks after guests

is the neutral contemporary word without dialect or old usage
hosteller
vsinnkeeper
7.4

A person who owns or manages a hotel

is more associated with smaller guest houses than the typical inn role
hotelkeeper
vsinnkeeper
  • UK
3.4

A person who owns or runs a hotel

handles personal guest hospitality often in smaller homely premises
hotelman
vsinnkeeper
  • Archaic
5.4

A man who owns or runs a hotel

is the gender neutral modern term for running an inn or hotel
hotelwoman
vsinnkeeper
  • Archaic
7.9

A woman who owns or runs a hotel

is the gender neutral modern term for running an inn or hotel

How Responsible

proprietor
39 4.8
innkeeper
19 3.4
bartender
330 2.0
employee
1.3

Surface Forms

innkeeper singular
innkeepers plural

Morphology

innkeeper = inn + keeper (transparent) = inn + keeper

The meaning is directly composed from 'inn' + 'keeper' (a person who keeps/looks after an inn), which is predictable to learners.

Etymology

Innkeeper comes from two simple parts: inn, meaning 'a place to stay', and keeper, from 'keep' meaning 'to look after'. So an innkeeper is literally someone who looks after an inn and its guests.