footman

[ foo t-muh n ]

/ ˈfʊt mən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR footman ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural foot·men.

a liveried servant who attends the door or carriage, waits on table, etc.

a metal stand before a fire, to keep something hot.

Archaic. an infantryman.

Nearby words

footling presentation, footlocker, footlong, footloose, footloose and fancy-free, footman, footmark, footmen's gallery, footnote, footpace, footpad

Origin of footman

First recorded in 1250–1300, footman is from the Middle English word fotman. See foot, man¹

Related forms

un·der·foot·man, noun, plural un·der·foot·men.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for footman

A footman was summoned and told to go down to the kitchens where the chefs on duty were severely reprimanded.
Royals And Royalist On Vacation|Tom Sykes|August 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
After graduating in June 2011, he applied for a job as a footman at Buckingham Palace, and started there in February 2012.
Royal Footman Forced To Return To Calcutta Slum Days After Starring Role In Baby's Birth||July 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST
On my visit, I was attended by a footman and a lady dressed in period attire.
Savoir Beds’ Royal State Bed: Just Perfect, If You Have $175,000|Daniel Gross|June 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But it was only Mrs. Davis's footman leaving a note for Leslie about some charity.
The Sport of the Gods|Paul Laurence Dunbar

Quickly she touched a bell, and in the next instant the coach had stopped and the footman was at the open door.
Belford's Magazine, Vol II, No. 10, March 1889|Various
The footman was fond of reading, and used often in the evening to entertain the other servants with some amusing book.
Favorite Fairy Tales|Logan Marshall
"You've made a mistake, my man," was the footman's response.
Adventures of Bindle|Herbert George Jenkins
A coachman in quiet livery sat on the box; a footman opened the door for us.
A Plucky Girl|L. T. Meade

British Dictionary definitions for footman

footman

/ (ˈfʊtmən) /

noun plural -men

a male servant, esp one in livery

a low four-legged metal stand used in a fireplace for utensils, etc

(formerly) a foot soldier

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012