English Explanatory Dictionary

butler

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  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.
  3. A valet, a male personal attendant.
verb
  1. To buttle, to dispense wines or liquors; to take the place of a butler.
name
  1. A surname.
  2. An English and Irish surname from Middle English [in turn originating as an occupation], for someone who was a butler or wine servant.
  3. An Anglicized form of the French Boutilier, Boutillier, Bouthillier surname from French of similar derivation.
  4. A male given name.
  5. A placename:
  6. A location in the United States of America:
  7. A town, the county seat of Choctaw County, Alabama.
  8. A populated place in Mohave County, Arizona.
  9. A ghost town in Fresno County, California.
  10. A small city, the county seat of Taylor County, Georgia.
  11. A small village in Montgomery County, Illinois.
  12. A small city in DeKalb County, Indiana.

Pronunciation

/ˈbʌt.lə(ɹ)/ bŭtʹ-lər /ˈbʌt.lɚ/ en-us-butler.ogg

Word forms

butler butlers butlering butlered

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.

Synonyms

footman

Related words

butt

Derived words

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 Burnside-Butler syndrome Butler County Butler Mons Butler River Lake Butler Mount Butler
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