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
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.
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
“The turnover of a footman is notoriously high!”
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 17, 2023
The footman died in the trenches during World War I, and Lizzie never remarried.
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
Then he hid behind a footman to wait.
From "The Whipping Boy" by Sid Fleischman
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.
