major-domo
Americannoun
plural
major-domos-
a man in charge of a great household, as that of a sovereign; a chief steward.
-
a steward or butler.
-
a person who makes arrangements for another.
noun
-
the chief steward or butler of a great household
-
facetious a steward or butler
Etymology
Origin of major-domo
1580–90; < Spanish mayordomo < Medieval Latin majordomūs head of the house, equivalent to major major + domūs, genitive of domus house; see dome
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Proteins, of course; RNA acts as the major-domo, a bridge between the castes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 13, 2025
Chad Kelderman is deliciously ridiculous as Olivia’s pompous major-domo Malvolio, and Eric Ray Anderson gleefully cavorts as the sly party dog Sir Toby Belch.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 17, 2019
So a man called Bellamy — or is it his doppelgänger, Bollany? — accompanies Swan on the piano and serves as his awkward, temporizing major-domo.
From New York Times • May 2, 2019
Mugleston, who plays Mrs. Pearce, the Higgins household major-domo, with a Scottish accent, waits with her at one interlude in Act 2.
From Washington Post • Mar. 8, 2019
Donovan marveled, “What are they doing? That’s what I want to know. It looks like the Virginia reel—and Dave’s a major-domo, or I never saw one.”
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
