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buttle

American  
[buht-l] / ˈbʌt l /

verb (used without object)

Slang.
buttled, buttling
  1. to work or serve as a butler.


Etymology

Origin of buttle

First recorded in 1865–70; back formation from butler


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.

See Examples For:

This summer, Currie — who has tawny hair and, often, a light tan — is planning to travel to various destinations in Europe to buttle at vacation houses.

From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2024

Such is the strange existence of live-in domestics, men and women hired to clean or buttle or nanny.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 3, 2013

Watching him buttle, John Barrymore once said: "You played that as if you came from a long line of butlers."

From Time Magazine Archive

Ise can buttle, ise a good yard man.

From Time Magazine Archive

He used to buttle for my father, sir, but got into trouble--some domestic unpleasantness, I believe--needed money, and raised a cheque.

From Red Masquerade by Louis Joseph Vance

She didn't have to say a word to William; he shore was some butler—I reckon he buttled as good as anyone in the Row.

From The Man Next Door by Emerson Hough

As personal assistants have been rebranded as executive assistants and child care providers as executive nannies, buttling has become a career that involves not only polishing silver and folding napkins but also lifestyle management.

From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2024

With the grave deference learned through years of buttling, he takes his place behind a rack of his special omelet pans,* each with its own propane-fueled Bernz-o-matic burner.

From Time Magazine Archive

Cronin first met young Armstrong-Jones in 1958 when Cronin was buttling for U.S.

From Time Magazine Archive

And then James comes a buttling in with a lot of sand what the perfessor has baked and made all scientific down in his labertory.

From Danny's Own Story by Don Marquis

"I can stand on my official dignity, and get out of any cleaning-up work till after dinner, and I won't have any buttling to do till the women get home from church."

From Murder in the Gunroom by H. Beam Piper

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