butler

See also Butler

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Old French butiller (“officer in charge of wine”). See bottle.

Pronunciation

• enPR: bŭtʹ-lər, IPA: /ˈbʌtləɹ/, X-SAMPA: /"bVtl@r/
• (UK) IPA: [ˈbʌt.lə(ɹ)]
• (US) IPA: [ˈbʌt.lɚ]

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌtlə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: but‧ler

Noun

butler (plural butlers)

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.
   • 1929, Baldwyn Dyke Acland, Filibuster, Chapter 2

     “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. …"

3. A valet, a male personal attendant.

Derived terms

• buttle (backformation)

Translations

manservant

• Catalan: sommelier (ca) m
• Finnish: sommelier (fi)
• French: sommelier (fr) m
• Japanese: ソムリエ (ja) (somurie)

• Macedonian: батлер (mk) (bátler) m
• Portuguese: mordomo (pt) m, escansão (pt) m
• Russian: дворецкий (ru) (dvoréckij) m
• Spanish: mayordomo (es)

chief male servant

• Bulgarian: иконом (bg) (ikonom) m
• Catalan: majordom (ca) m
• Czech: majordomus (cs) m
• Finnish: hovimestari (fi)
• French: majordome (fr) m
• German: Butler (de) m
• Italian: maggiordomo (it) m

• Japanese: 執事 (ja) (shitsuji)
• Macedonian: батлер (mk) (bátler) m
• Norwegian: bøtler (no) m
• Portuguese: mordomo (pt) m
• Russian: дворецкий (ru) (dvor'éckij) m
• Spanish: mayordomo (es)

Verb

butler (third-person singular simple present butlers, present participle butlering, simple past and past participle butlered)

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