- (British English, formal)
a person who owns or manages a pub 酒馆老板（或经理） - (Australian English, New Zealand English)
a person who owns or manages a hotel 旅馆老板（或经理）
Word OriginMiddle English (referring to someone who collected taxes in ancient Rome and biblical times): from Old French publicain, from Latin publicanus, from publicum ‘public revenue’, neuter (used as a noun) of publicus ‘of the people’. The current sense dates from the early 18th cent.