room clerk
1
3.4
- noun
- /rum klɜrk/
- US
:
recepcionista
- When we arrived late at the hotel, the room clerk was friendly and efficient in checking us in.
Examples
-
The room clerk got our keys mixed up, that's all.
-
I finally went back to the hotel... ...and the room clerk gave me this.
-
I'll start right in by telling the room clerk you've been entertaining your girl in our apartment.
-
The room clerk handed me my room key and explained the hotel amenities.
-
I reported the issue to the room clerk, who quickly assigned us a different room.
Synonyms
86
2.6
A person who greets visitors, answers the phone, and gives information at an office or hotel
14
2.1
A person who works at a hotel's front desk and helps guests with check-ins and questions
2
2.0
A person at a hotel's front desk who greets guests and handles check-ins and check-outs
1
2.7
A person at the front desk of a hotel who helps guests
1
3.7
A person who works at a desk in an office or hotel reception helping visitors
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a hotel employee who handles room assignments and records' is directly derivable from combining 'room' (the hotel rooms) with 'clerk' (an employee who manages records). This modifier+noun composition is a regular, compositional pattern (a clerk for rooms) and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily understand it.
Etymology
Room clerk joins room and clerk: a clerk is a desk worker who keeps records, and a room clerk hands out keys and 'assigns rooms' to guests, so the phrase means the hotel employee who manages rooms and keys.