noun 1.a member of the religious and military order
(Knights Hospitalers or Knights of St. John of Jerusalem) originating about the time of the first Crusade (1096–99) and taking its
name from a hospital at Jerusalem.
2.( lowercase ) a person, especially a member of a religious order, devoted to the care of the sick or needy in hospitals.
Also, Hos·pi·tal·ler.
Origin: 1350–1400; hospital +
-er1; replacing
Middle English hospitalier <
Middle French <
Medieval Latin hospitālārius; see
-ier2