scullery

[ skuhl-uh-ree, skuhl-ree ]

noun

, Chiefly British.

, plural scul·ler·ies.

1. a small room or section of a pantry in which food is cleaned, trimmed, and cut into cooking portions before being sent to the kitchen.
2. a small room or section of a pantry or kitchen in which cooking utensils are cleaned and stored.

scullery

/ ˈskʌlərɪ /

noun

1. a small room or part of a kitchen where washing up, vegetable preparation, etc is done

Word History and Origins

Origin of scullery¹

1300–50; Middle English squillerye < Middle French escuelerie, equivalent to escuele dish (< Latin scutella, diminutive of scutra pan) + -rie -ry

Word History and Origins

Origin of scullery¹

C15: from Anglo-Norman squillerie, from Old French escuelerie, from escuele a bowl, from Latin scutella, from scutra a flat tray

Example Sentences

Both versions posit women and pregnant people as more or less the scullery maids of constitutional democracy, willing to do all the work, but never quite managing to gain all the autonomy and dignity that doing all the work ought to bring with it.

From Slate

The sloth’s nubbly nylon “fur” does the scrubbing, its front paws grasp a handy hanging cord and a wan, stitched-in half smile serves as a reminder that the scullery duty is only temporary.

From Los Angeles Times

They said Frederick Leyland, who was manager of the Bibby shipping line and "a multimillionaire by today's standards", made many improvements and changes during his first winter at the house, creating the Billiard Room, a scullery and the library.

From BBC

One day she fell into conversation with a street musician after giving him some money and he encouraged her to follow his example, saying it would likely pay more than her scullery job.

From Seattle Times

Back when we first went five years ago, there were two levels, one of which involved schlepping your own snacks from the lobby like a “Downton Abbey” scullery maid.

From Seattle Times

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