definitions

menial

[ mee-nee-uhl, meen-yuhl ]
/ ˈmi ni əl, ˈmin yəl /
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adjective

lowly and sometimes degrading: menial work.
servile; submissive: menial attitudes.
pertaining to or suitable for domestic servants; humble: menial furnishings.

noun

a domestic servant.
a servile person.

RELATED WORDS

humdrum, boring, base, low, routine, mean, common, abject, degrading, dull, fawning, humble, ignoble, ignominious, obeisant, obsequious, servile, slavish, sorry, subservient

Nearby words

menger, mengistu haile mariam, mengzi, menhaden, menhir, menial, menilite, meninga, meningeal, meningeal artery, meningeal vein

Origin of menial

1350–1400; Middle English meynyal < Anglo-French me(i)nial. See meiny, -al1

SYNONYMS FOR menial

2 fawning. See servile.
4 attendant, underling, hireling, lackey.
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Related forms

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

Examples from the Web for menial

British Dictionary definitions for menial

menial

/ (ˈmiːnɪəl) /

adjective

consisting of or occupied with work requiring little skill, esp domestic duties such as cleaning
of, involving, or befitting servants
servile

noun

a domestic servant
a servile person

Derived Forms

menially, adverb

Word Origin for menial

C14: from Anglo-Norman meignial, from Old French meinie household. See meiny
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