publican
/ˈpʌblɪkən/noun
1
- Brit. a person who owns or manages a pub〈英〉酒馆老板。
1.1
- Austral. a person who owns or manages a hotel〈澳〉旅馆老板。
2
- (in ancient Roman and biblical times) a collector or farmer of taxes（古罗马和《圣经》时代的）征税员; 包税人：
publicans and sinners.
包税人和罪人。
词源
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 cent.