/hos"pi tl euhr/ , n.
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. ( l.c. ) a person, esp. a member of a religious order, devoted to the care of the sick or needy in hospitals.
Also, Hospitaller .
[ 1350-1400; HOSPITAL + -ER 1 ; r. ME hospitalier hospitalarius; see -IER 2 ]