footman
Americannoun
plural
footmen-
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
- underfootman noun
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.
She married the dying William Mason during the series and later settled down with Andrew Parker, a footman in the house who has now taken over for Mr. Carson.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 5, 2025
Ravec evolved out of a 2003 Daily Mirror stunt when one of its reporters blagged his way into a job as a Buckingham Palace footman.
From BBC • May 24, 2025
It had belonged, Ms. Miller said, to her great-aunt Lizzie, who had been a downstairs maid at a grand house in Scotland and had married the footman.
From New York Times • May 6, 2023
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
Ed stood with his hands behind his back beside the door to Judge Fielding’s chambers in the obsequious pose of a royal footman, watching everything impassively.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
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.
