footman
Americannoun
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a liveried servant who attends the door or carriage, waits on table, etc.
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a metal stand before a fire, to keep something hot.
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Archaic. an infantryman.
noun
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a male servant, esp one in livery
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a low four-legged metal stand used in a fireplace for utensils, etc
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(formerly) a foot soldier
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any of several arctiid moths related to the tiger moths, esp the common footman ( Eilema lurideola ), with yellowish hind wings and brown forewings with a yellow front stripe; they produce woolly bear larvae
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of footman
First recorded in 1250–1300, footman is from the Middle English word fotman. See foot, man
Explanation
A footman is a servant who works in a large, wealthy home. There aren't many footmen left these days, although you can still find some working for the British royal family. It was once common for wealthy families to employ uniform-wearing male servants. These footmen, usually young men, served food at the dinner table, filled in for absent butlers, carried heavy things, and opened and closed doors. The word footman comes from the original job of a running footman — an agile servant would run beside his master's carriage making sure it didn't tip over. Earlier, a footman was a "soldier who travels on foot," rather than on horseback.
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:
Mr. Molesley endeared audiences with his hapless but well-meaning misadventures in the series, eventually transitioning from footman to local schoolteacher.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2025
The footman died in the trenches during World War I, and Lizzie never remarried.
From New York Times ● May 6, 2023
The former footman still has the tea set he was given by the monarch as a gift one Christmas.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2022
A newspaper reporter who went undercover to work as a palace footman reinforced that down-to-earth image, taking photos of the royal Tupperware on the breakfast table and a rubber duck in the bath.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 8, 2022
“I will not forget,” she told him, and then the footman stepped back onto his perch, and the small white carriage rolled away through the crowded courtyard and vanished through the main gates.
From "Ash" by Malinda Lo
Alongside the coach, walk nine grooms, six footmen and four Yeomen of the Guard.
From BBC ● May 4, 2023
When the golden state coach, pulled by eight white horses and surrounded by liveried footmen, came into view, he knew it was time to use them.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 28, 2023
We are not a nation of shopkeepers; we are a nation of butlers, footmen and lady’s maids.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 3, 2019
The Queen will hang on to her palaces, diamond-encrusted tiaras, royal carriages, and footmen, not to mention billions in assets, vast tracts of prime land, and royal privilege.
From The New Yorker ● Jul. 5, 2016
Mr Tibbs then had the footmen move a small delicate table and two chairs alongside the giant’s table.
From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl
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.
