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valet

[ va-ley, val-it, val-ey ]
/ væˈleɪ, ˈvæl ɪt, ˈvæl eɪ /
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noun

a male servant who attends to the personal needs of his male employer, as by taking care of clothing or the like; manservant.
a man who is employed for cleaning and pressing, laundering, and similar services for patrons of a hotel, passengers on a ship, etc.
an attendant who parks cars for patrons at a hotel, restaurant, etc.
a stand or rack for holding coats, hats, etc.

verb (used with or without object), val·et·ed, val·et·ing.

to serve as a valet.

RELATED WORDS

servant, attendant, squire, dresser, manservant, equerry

Nearby words

  1. valerian family,
  2. valerianaceous,
  3. valeric,
  4. valeric acid,
  5. valerie,
  6. valet de chambre,
  7. valet parking,
  8. valeta,
  9. valetta,
  10. valetudinarian

Origin of valet

1560–70; < French; Middle French va(s)let squire, equivalent to vas- (< Medieval Latin vassus servant) + -let -let; see vassal
Related formsval·et·less, adjectiveun·val·et·ed, adjective
Can be confusedvalet valid
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for valet

British Dictionary definitions for valet

valet

/ (ˈvælɪt, ˈvæleɪ) /

noun

a manservant who acts as personal attendant to his employer, looking after his clothing, serving his meals, etcFrench name: valet de chambre
a manservant who attends to the requirements of patrons in a hotel, passengers on board ship, etc; steward

verb -ets, -eting or -eted

to act as a valet for (a person)
(tr) to clean the bodywork and interior of (a car) as a professional service

Word Origin for valet

C16: from Old French vaslet page, from Medieval Latin vassus servant; see vassal
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

Word Origin and History for valet

valet

n.

"personal man-servant," mid-14c., from Old French valet, variant of vaslet "man's servant," originally "squire, young man," from Gallo-Romance *vassellittus "young nobleman, squire, page," diminutive of Medieval Latin vassallus, from vassus "servant" (see vassal). Modern sense is usually short for valet de chambre; the general sense of "male household servant of the meaner sort" going with the variant form varlet. First recorded use of valet parking is from 1960.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper