The proprietor or keeper of an auberge; an innkeeper (from French).
From French 'aubergiste,' formed from 'auberge' (inn) + '-iste' (one who practices or is associated with something, from Latin '-ista'). The suffix '-iste' is the French version of English '-ist,' used to denote a person associated with a place or practice.
An 'aubergiste' is basically a French innkeeper, and the '-iste' suffix is the French version of our '-ist'—it's how French and Italian make occupation words. You'll see the same pattern with 'flutiste' (flutist) and 'dentiste' (dentist), showing how different languages borrowed this productive suffix.
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