publican
/ˈpʌblɪk(ə)n
/noun
1British A person who owns or manages a pub.Food was not high on your average publican's agenda, nor was it high priority for his customers....
- With the party season approaching, publicans, hoteliers and restaurateurs are anxious to win back custom from locals and tourists by softening the area's rowdy image.
- Police officers, hoteliers, shopkeepers and publicans are also among those asked to brush up on their knowledge of Scotland's most famous poet.
1.1Australian A person who owns or manages a hotel.Mary and her late husband Murph were the publicans at the Southland Hotel for about twenty years....
- Dad received a phone call from the publican of the Empire Hotel on Monday morning, asking if any of his kids had lost a mobile.
- Naturally, the drought also affected the nearby town of Kanyaka where D. Brown was the postmaster and Thomas Moyle the publican at the hotel.
2(In ancient Roman and biblical times) a collector or farmer of taxes: publicans and sinners...
- He is the same as He was when He received Mary Magdalene - called Matthew the publican - brought Zacchaeus down from the tree, and made them examples of what His grace could do.
- Friend of publicans and sinners, you make the angels laugh and heaven rejoice.
- Obviously, Paul is talking about sinners if they are not saved while Jesus is talking about those publicans and harlots that believed in him.
Origin
Middle English (in sense 2): from Old French publicain, from Latin publicanus, from publicum 'public revenue', neuter (used as a noun) of publicus 'of the people'. sense 1 dates from the early 18th century.