Bellhopper

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A hotel worker who carries baggage to and from guests' rooms and performs various service tasks
2. An employee at a hotel who transports luggage for visitors and attends to their requests and needs
3. A hotel staff member who assists guests by handling their bags and providing general service duties

Etymology: "Bellhopper" is a compound of "bell" and "hopper," and the two parts explain its sense quite directly. A "bell" here is the call-bell or service bell that summoned staff in hotels, and a "hopper" is one who hops, or moves about quickly on errands, the way a bellboy darts between rooms and the front desk. The noun pairs a signalling device with the person it summoned to run around for guests. Put together, the compound describes a worker whose job is to answer the bell and hurry off on the guest's behalf. It is a plain, transparent formation rather than a term with a dramatic backstory, so the most useful thing to know is simply how literally the two halves describe the job.