footmann.
/ˈfʊtmən/, U.S. /ˈfʊtmən/ 1. A foot soldier. Now chiefly historical and rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > soldier by branch of army > [noun] > foot-soldier
footmanc1325
page?a1400
pieton?1473
foot soldier1587
rondache1607
peon1609
tolpatch1705
foot wobbler1785
wobbler1785
doughboy1835
fantassin1835
mud-crusher1864
web foot1866
grabby1868
infantryman1883
flat-foot1889
gravel-crusher1889
foot-slogger1894
PBI1916
mud-slogger1936
infanteer1944
leg1969
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 4096 Wiþoute archers & votmen, wiþ tuo þousend hors ywrye.
a1450 (?a1300) Richard Coer de Lyon (Caius) (1810) l. 5105 (MED) Off a footman a bowe he took.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin vii. 113 [They]..were well viijml knyghtes..and fotemen grete plente.
1598 R. Barret Theorike & Pract. Mod. Warres iii. 40 Those battels..being verie aduantagious for footmen against footmen.
1630 R. Norton tr. W. Camden Hist. Princesse Elizabeth i. 105 He put his footmen aboord the small vessels he had.
a1670 Duke of Albemarle Observ. Mil. & Polit. Affairs (1671) vii. 21 The proportion of your Army ought to be two Footmen to one Horseman, besides your Dragooners.
1738 J. Besse Abstr. Sufferings Quakers III. i. 3 The same Day came..Horsemen and Foot-men, arm'd with Halberts, Pistols, Swords, Pitchforks, Clubs and Hedge-Stakes.
1798 J. H. Craig in Marquess Wellesley Select. Despatches (1877) 601 A force of 10,000 horse, and as many footmen.
1864 C. Kingsley Roman & Teuton iii. 80 The knights..left the footmen to finish the work.
1896 Times 22 Apr. 7/3 They were suddenly attacked by a body of 200 horsemen, supported by a large body of footmen.
1973 W. L. Warren Henry II v. 232 What Henry II did was..to make mercenary footmen the mainstay of his military power.
2014 Newsweek (Nexis) 5 Dec. 1 The Shiite neighborhoods have a local recruitment office where fighters... are seen lingering on the streets at nightfall, acting as unofficial footmen patrolling neighborhoods.
2. † b. A highwayman who robs on foot; = footpad n.1 Obsolete.Quot. 1669 may refer to thieves disguised as footmen (in sense 3a).† c. A person who competes in a running race. Obsolete.
a. A person who goes on foot, a pedestrian. Also with preceding adjective: a good, swift, etc., walker or runner. Now somewhat rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > going on foot > [noun] > one going on foot
foota1225
footmana1382
walkerc1390
footera1425
ganger1424
trampler1580
foot folk1583
marcher1589
leg-stretcher1612
foot traveller1631
pedestrian1641
ambulator1652
foot walker1751
turnpiker1812
foot passenger1832
ped1863
voetganger1902
jaywalker1917
stepper1934
foot-slogger1956
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1961) Num. xi. 21 Sixe hundred þousandys of foot men [L. peditum] been of þis peple.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 6152 Þai war..Sex hundreth thusand fute men [a1400 Gött., fotmen] þan, Wit-vten childer, wimmen and brod.
1475 in J. Raine Vol. Eng. Misc. N. Counties Eng. (1890) 27 (MED) The fotman's cawse be for William Chawe dore is defectyffe.
1532 G. Hervet tr. Xenophon Treat. House Holde f. 16v If he wyll be a footeman, housbandry maketh a man stronge bodied, and causethe hym to exercise hym selfe goinge a huntyng.
1563 Abp. E. Sandys in J. Strype Ann. Reformation (1709) I. xxxv. 396 His park, wherein is a path for footmen.
1650 T. Fuller Pisgah-sight of Palestine i. xiii. 41 Fear makes good foot-men.
1748 Defoe's Tour Great Brit. (ed. 4) I. 154 The Ferry-keeper will demand Six-pence of every Horseman, and Two-pence of every Footman.
1816 M. Keating Trav. (1817) II. 28 A foot-man is nearly lost in this forest of annuals.
1882 E. L. Chamberlain Gloss. W. Worcs. Words 12 Footman, a good walker is termed ‘a good footman’.
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Squatter's Dream xxiii. 277 A ‘footman’ (as a person not in possession of a horse is termed in Australian provincial circles).
1945 S. J. Baker Austral. Lang. 103 Bird of passage, wallaby tracker, tourist, footman and professional pedestrian, are often applied to itinerants.
2003 G. Hausman & L. Hausman Mythology of Horses x. 91 The Sioux..were a forest people, plodding footmen of the headwaters of the Mississippi.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > robber > [noun] > highwayman > footpad
trailer1591
commissioner of Newmarket heath1592
foot land-raker1598
striker1598
padder1610
footman1615
footpad1670
low pad1673
spice1819
padfoot1838
1615 J. Stephens Satyrical Ess. 252 If he doth not play the valiant Foot-man, and take tribute of passengers.
1669 S. Pepys Diary 19 May (1976) IX. 557 Being wounded..last night by footmen in the highway.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > racing on foot > [noun] > runner in race
runner1440
footman1620
lopemana1625
courser1652
1620 J. Melton Astrologaster 33 Why doe footmen, in the hotest Weather, after they haue runne a Race, drinke so much Usquebah and Rosa Solis?
a1641 J. Webster & T. Heywood Appius & Virginia (1654) i. 2 I have heard of cunning footmen that have worne shooes made of lead some ten dayes 'fore a race to give them nimble and more active feet.
1685 London Gaz. No. 2062. 2/2 There will be a Plate Run for by Footmen at Wigan.
a1688 J. Bunyan (1698) (title) The heavenly foot-man.
3.
a. An attendant or foot servant; spec. one employed to run ahead of or alongside a coach, carriage, or (in early use) a rider of rank. Cf. running footman at running adj. 3a. Now historical.
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society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > attendant or personal servant > [noun] > footman
footmanc1405
foot knavea1425
lackey1512
lacket1523
staffier1532
outrunner1598
fore-footman1610
skip-kennel1668
fart-catcher1785
carriage man1857
c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1868 And eek his steede dryuen forth wt staues With footmen, bothe yemen and eek knaues.
a1475 Bk. Curtasye (Sloane 1986) l. 621 in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 320 Fote-men þer ben, Þat rennen by þe brydels of ladys shene.
?a1527 in Regulations & Establishm. Househ. Earl of Northumberland (1905) v. 48 Every Footman xl s. bicause of the moch Werynge of his stuf with labor.
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Fotemen for princes, or noble persons, circumpedes.
1612 W. Parkes Curtaine-drawer 19 He needs must ride, That had my Foot-man lackying by his side.
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1652 (1955) III. 69 I sent my footman some hours before, and so rod negligently, under favour of the shade.
1718 M. Prior Alma i, in Poems Several Occasions (new ed.) 321 Like Footmen running before Coaches, To tell the Inn what Lord approaches.
1845 Ainsworth's Mag. 7 50 Pierre Lenoir, mounted on a sturdy nag..while a footman ran by his side, left Chihuahua.
1991 Daily Tel. 2 Feb. 18/2 Footmen, whose original job was to run beside the carriage.
2014 A. S. Katchen in S. A. Riess Compan. to Amer. Sport Hist. xv. 336 Many runners were the footmen of the wealthy.
b. An obedient or unquestioning follower.Now perhaps chiefly as an extended use of sense 3c.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > humility > servility > [noun] > servile person
clienta1393
snivelard1398
a dog for (also to) the bowc1405
fawnerc1440
snivellerc1450
slave1521
footstool1531
minion1560
footman1567
cringer1582
earthworm1583
yea-sayer1584
croucher1587
creeper1589
sneak-up1598
spaniel1598
sneak-cupa1616
servile1632
puppy dog1651
clientelary1655
lackey1692
groveling1708
prostite1721
prostitute1721
toad-eater1742
groveller1779
cringeling1798
creeping Jesusc1818
toady1826
truckler1827
crawler1847
flunkey1854
doormat1861
dog robber1863
heeler1875
slaveling1884
bootlicker1890
fetch-and-carry1905
poodle1907
yes-woman1927
ass-licker1939
ass-kisser1951
chamcha1966
fart-catcher1971
1567 J. Jewel Def. Apol. Churche Eng. iv. vii. §3. 413 Where ye saie, The Emperoure Constantine the Greate was footeman to the Pope, I am mutche ashamed of your vanitie.
1684 N. S. tr. R. Simon Crit. Enq. Editions Bible xxvi. 234 [Olivetanus] followed some forerunning Interpreters..yet in the very beginning of his work, he protests that he scorned the equipage of a Learned mans Footman.
1726 D. Defoe Polit. Hist. Devil i. 376 The People of Salem, in New England, pretended..that a black Man tormented them..: This black Man they would have be the Devil, employ'd by the Person whom they accus'd for a Witch; thus making the Devil a Page or a Footman to the Wizard.
1834 Edinb. Rev. Jan. 539 The Whigs..submitted to be the footmen of the Duke of Newcastle.
1937 Amer. Polit. Sci. Rev. 31 922 Engineers... are still footmen of the chariot of state.
1990 P. Romney in D. Keane & C. Read Old Ont. 212 The bulk of the newly arrived Irish and English Anglicans were docile footmen of the social hierarchy.
2011 V. Yadav Polit. Parties, Business Groups, & Corruption in Developing Countries 204 Systems which promote intraparty democracy, rather than making party members the obedient footmen of party agendas, produce better politics.
c. A manservant (usually in livery) employed mainly to wait at table or attend a coach or carriage.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > [noun] > liveried > footman or flunkey
footman1662
flunkey1786
yellow-plush1841
Jeames1846
Thomas1846
John Thomas1860
little man1885
1662 Duchess of Newcastle Bell in Campo ii. iii. xii. in Playes Written 622 Where is our Coach? Enter a Footman. Call the Coach to the Door?
1692 T. Southerne Wives Excuse ii. i. 14 (stage direct.) Witwou'd at a Table, with Betty, and a Footman waiting.
1707 G. Farquhar Beaux Stratagem i. 1 There's neither Red-Coat in the Coach, nor Footman behind it.
1757 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. IV. 277 Some gentlemen of the bed-chamber were not able even to keep a footman.
1785 W. Cowper Tirocinium in Task 407 Means that would disgrace A..footman out of place. View more context for this quotation
1846 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) vii. 61 The Princess's Arms..much resorted to by splendid footmen.
1878 M. A. Brown tr. J. L. Runeberg Nadeschda 23 A gilded coach..bursts forth; Like gaudy birds are the footmen perched.
1927 A. Conan Doyle Case-bk. Sherlock Holmes i. 38 A butler..handed me over to a plush-clad footman, who ushered me into the Baron's presence.
1951 G. Heyer Quiet Gentleman xxii. 329 He told the footman to call Mrs. Marple.
1988 P. Pullman Shadow in North vi. 65 A stiff footman..blinked impassively and gave a slight bow.
2003 Observer 12 Oct. (Food Monthly Suppl.) 51/2 The footmen entered with the two silver soupiers.
4. A metal stand typically placed near the fireplace and used for keeping food, plates, etc., warm.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > cooking vessel or pot > [noun] > trivet
trivet1416
gallows1512
trippet1563
gallows-tree1590
footman1767
sime1781
1767 A. Brodie & R. Williams Specif. Patent 880 3 A rest or footman to put the tea-kettle on.
1769 T. Smollett Adventures of Atom I. 170 A stand for a tea-kettle, acquired the name of Footman.
1843 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit (1844) xx. 251 From pot and kettle, face of brass footman, and black-leaded stove.
1887 S. Pugh His Masters i. 13 Brass footmen, as they were called, fastened to the fender, and supporting the plate of toast near enough to the fire to keep it hot, were used in those days.
1913 Outing Apr. 38 The iron footman..stands inside the fender by the fire to hold muffins warming for tea.
1989 Times 30 Dec. 34/3 A large type [of trivet], known as a ‘footman’, was made entirely of iron, steel or brass.
2007 Western Morning News (Nexis) 21 Apr. 11 A good quality brass footman with two handles and dummy drawers on cabriole legs will call for £50–£80.
5. Any of various moths of the family Arctiidae, most of which are small and plainly coloured and have hairy caterpillars which feed on lichens. Also footman moth. Frequently with distinguishing word.Most of these moths are members of the subfamily Lithosiinae.red-necked footman, rosy footman: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > family Arctiidae > member of subfamily Lithosiidae (footman)
liveryman1744
footman1775
1775 M. Harris Eng. Lepidoptera 27 Footman... Dark lead colour, bordered round with cream colour.
1800 E. Donovan Nat. Hist. Brit. Insects IX. 39 Phalæna Quadra. Spotted Footman Moth.
1819 G. Samouelle Entomologist's Compend. 249 Lithosia quadra (four-spotted footman).
1870 Eng. Mech. 21 Jan. 449/2 The scarce footman (Lithosia caniola) has not long been known as a British insect.
1989 M. Chinery Butterflies & Day-flying Moths Brit. & Europe 187 The footmen, most of which are nocturnal, are a rather varied group and are sometimes mistaken for geometers.
2012 Guardian (Nexis) 19 July 35 The most abundant types [of moth] are the garden grass-veneer..and the slightly bigger common footman (silvery grey, oval with a rich yellow border).
Compounds
footman archer n. now historical a foot soldier who is also an archer; an archer who fights on foot.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > armed man > [noun] > archer > type of
footman archer1511
solak1520
franc-archer1568
argoletc1580
longbowman1738
hobbler-archer1786
1511 H. Watson tr. Noble Hist. King Ponthus (new ed.) sig. N.vi There wente forth mo than .xii. thousande on horsbacke with out fote men archers & arbelasters [Fr. sans les arbalestriers et gens de pied].
c1571 E. Campion Two Bks. Hist. Ireland (1963) ii. 65 According to covenante came Fitz Stevens withe thirtie knightes of his bloude, sixtie squyers, and 300 fotemen archers.
1598 R. Grenewey tr. Tacitus Annales xiii. ix. 192 In the wings went the footemen archers [L. pedes sagittarius] with the residue of the horsemen.
1907 Trans. Dumfries & Galloway Nat. Hist. & Antiquarian Soc. 67 John de Derle..led 40 footmen archers.
2003 J. T. Rosenthal Telling Tales i. 1 The footmen-archers..made English armies so successful in the great set pieces of fourteenth- and early-fifteenth-century warfare.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun]
quarternOE
prisona1200
jailc1275
lodgec1290
galleya1300
chartrea1325
ward1338
keepingc1384
prison-house1419
lying-house1423
javel1483
tollbooth1488
kidcotec1515
clinkc1530
warding-place1571
the hangman's budget1589
Newgate1592
gehenna1594
Lob's pound1597
caperdewsie1599
footman's inn1604
cappadochio1607
pena1640
marshalsea1652
log-house1662
bastille1663
naskin1673
state prison1684
tronk1693
stone-doublet1694
iron or stone doublet1698
college1699
nask1699
quod1699
shop1699
black hole1707
start1735
coop1785
blockhouse1796
stone jug1796
calaboose1797
factory1806
bull-pen1809
steel1811
jigger1812
jug1815
kitty1825
rock pile1830
bughouse1842
zindan1844
model1845
black house1846
tench1850
mill1851
stir1851
hoppet1855
booby hatch1859
caboose1865
cooler1872
skookum house1873
chokey1874
gib1877
nick1882
choker1884
logs1888
booby house1894
big house1905
hoosegow1911
can1912
detention camp1916
pokey1919
slammer1952
joint1953
slam1960
1604 Penniles Parl. Threed-bare Poets in Iacke of Dover Quest of Inquirie sig. F4 Those that depend on destiny, & not on God, may chaunce looke through a narrow lettice at Foote-mans Inne.
1612 S. Rowlands Knaue of Harts sig. C3v That he at last in foot-mans Inne must host.
1631 B. Jonson New Inne i. ii. sig. B2 There's Footmans Inne, at the townes end, the stockes, Or Carriers Place, at signe o'the broken Waine.
Derivatives
ˈfootmanhood n. footmen collectively; (also) the state or condition of being a footman.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > [noun] > liveried > footman or flunkey > collectively
flunkeydom1849
footmanhood1857
1857 ‘L. Lynx’ Parson-ography 36 I am sorry I put that in about the footmanhood.
1862 H. Aïdé Carr of Carrlyon III. 136 The powdered footmanhood of London.
1906 Harper's Weekly 24 Feb. 272/1 Here was the touch of ‘sharpest pathos’ in manhood's acceptance of footmanhood.
1917 Newcastle (Austral.) Morning Herald 18 May 9/4 In the course of fifteen years of footmanhood..no such problem had worried him.
ˈfootmanry n. footmen collectively; (also) the occupation or skills of a footman.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > [noun] > liveried > footman or flunkey > characteristics or occupation of
footmanship1727
footmanry1749
flunkeyiana1854
1749 Foundling Hosp. for Wit No. 6. 39 I come now to shew the great Benefit and Advantage [of the Bill], which will accrue to..the whole Footmanry of the County of Bucks.
1795 A. W. Radcliffe Journey made in Summer 1794 130 Not many have been able to effect so much as the Elector of Cologne against the chamberlains, pages, and other footmanry of their courts.
1822 J. Galt Sir Andrew Wylie I. xxiii. 208 We were plagued by the sons of the patriarchal fixtures of Chastington-hall, coming here to learn the craft and mystery of footmanry.
1915 Living Age 3 July 49/2 Footmanry. It is the new science and art of being a footman. Yeoman—yeomanry. Footman—footmanry.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.c1325