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butler

noun, verb — 4 senses

butler

noun

UK /ˈbʌt.lə(ɹ)/ · US /ˈbʌt.lɚ/

Etymology From Middle English butler, butlere, boteler, botelere, from Old French buttiler, butiller, boteillier (“officer in charge of wine”), from Medieval Latin botellārius, equivalent to bottle + -er. Piecewise doublet of bottler.

1

A manservant having charge of wines and liquors.

2

The chief male servant of a household who has charge of other employees, receives guests, directs the serving of meals, and performs various personal services.

  • “One marble hall, with staircase complete, one butler and three flunkeys to receive a retired sojer who dares to ring the bell. D'you know, old boy, I gave my bowler to the butler, whangee to one flunkey, gloves to another, and there was the fourth poor blighter looking like an orphan at a Mothers' Meeting. …"1929, Baldwyn Dyke Acland, chapter 2, in Filibuster:
3

A valet, a male personal attendant.

Synonyms
footman
Derived terms
archbutler, butlerage, butler café, butler cafe, butlerdom, Butler English, butleress, butlerless, butler lie, butlerlike, butlerly, butlership, butler steak, buttle, silent butler, underbutler, what the butler saw
Related terms
butt

butler

verb

Etymology From Middle English butler, butlere, boteler, botelere, from Old French buttiler, butiller, boteillier (“officer in charge of wine”), from Medieval Latin botellārius, equivalent to bottle + -er. Piecewise doublet of bottler.

1

To buttle, to dispense wines or liquors; to take the place of a butler.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.