valet

[ va-ley, val-it, val-ey ]

/ væˈleɪ, ˈvæl ɪt, ˈvæl eɪ /

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.

Nearby words

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 valeted

Valeted: served; (from valet, a gentleman's private servant).
Tom Brown at Rugby|Thomas Hughes
I can tell a man who's been valeted as far as my eyes will reach.
Blacksheep! Blacksheep!|Meredith Nicholson
Mrs. Butterworth put him in the west room, sir, and I valeted him.
T. Tembarom|Frances Hodgson Burnett
Young Martin, who valeted Derry when Bronson would let him, followed with more proffers of assistance.
The Tin Soldier|Temple Bailey

His slippers were set in readiness on the hearth-rug, and the machine who valeted him had fitted them with boot-trees.
Septimus|William J. Locke

British Dictionary definitions for valeted

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 valeted

valet

"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.