butlern.
/ˈbʌtlə/, U.S. /ˈbətlər/ 1. † b. figurative and in figurative contexts: a person who or thing which provides or dispenses something. Obsolete.
a. Originally: †a servant responsible for supervising the wine cellar or serving wine or other drink, sometimes as cup-bearer to a monarch or nobleman (obsolete). Later: a (male) head servant, esp. in a large household, whose chief responsibilities include managing the wine cellar and dining arrangements, supervising other servants, and greeting visitors (now chiefly historical). Now also: a person employed to provide personal service for a particular individual, or in a corporate setting, on a cruise ship, etc.Cf. butleress n., under-butler n., wine butler n. at wine n.1 Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > domestic servant > [noun] > butler
butler?a1300
somler1543
bottle bearer1571
wine butler1880
wine steward1898
?a1300 Iacob & Iosep (Bodl.) (1916) l. 254 Hit fel in one niȝte þe botiler feng to slepe, A swiþe muri sweuene him þuȝte þat he gan mete, Þat in þe winȝarde þe kinges coupe he ber.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2092 Ðis buteler Ioseph sone for-gat.
c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 833 Sum mareschales, and botlers, To ȝoman, page, and joglers.
a1475 Bk. Curtasye (Sloane 1986) l. 423 in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 312 Botler shalle sett for yche a messe A pot, a lofe.
a1500 (a1400) Ipomedon (Chetham) (1889) l. 449 (MED) The butteler hym the cuppe betoke.
1589 A. Wingfield True Coppie Disc. 11 Though any man..doo locke vp their drinke and set buttlers vpon it.
1598 J. Stow Suruay of London 71 These citizens did minister wine, as Bottelers.
1601 J. Marston et al. Iacke Drums Entertainm. v. sig. Iv Bid the Butler broach fresh wine.
1683 S. Cradock Hist. Old Test. v. 495 What plenty and variety of Plate, bread and wine, his Cup-bearers and Butlers set out.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. i. ii. 28 He ordered his Cooks and Butlers..to give me Victuals and Drink.
1796 F. Burney Camilla IV. vii. vi. 77 The house-keeper and the butler led the way, followed by every other domestic of the house.
1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede I. i. ii. 19 A man who had been butler to ‘the family’ for fifteen years.
1883 G. MacDonald Donal Grant I. xiv. 129 The butler himself waited upon him.
1909 M. E. Greene Door where Wrong Lay iv. 71 I rang, and the butler opened the door with a look of surprise.
1943 C. Beaton Diary 25 Dec. in Self Portrait with Friends (1979) xiv. 119 Any Englishman, living however quietly and simply in India, will have at least six servants: a cook, a butler, a laundryman, [etc.].
2008 Cruise Trav. Mar. 30/2 Every cabin is served by a butler, who will gladly take your daily request for afternoon ‘tea and savories’ delivered to your stateroom.
ΚΠ
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 273 (MED) Þere is þe faire floure, þe citee of Parys, norice of þewes, botiller of lettres [L. pincerna litterarum].
tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) iii. l. 696 And glaad beth they to stonde abowte a welle That humor euer may ther butler be.
c1475 (c1450) P. Idley Instr. to his Son (Cambr.) (1935) i. l. 1123 (MED) Glotonye is keruoure and boteler alsoo.
a1500 in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1913) 131 59 (MED) [S]ouereyn lady..That arte of pety Botelere, On-to the..I recomaund my preyer.
1598 tr. G. de La Perrière Mirrour Policie sig. Li Saint Hierom calleth it [sc. the S. wind] the butler or pourer forth of water, because it commonly bringeth raine.
2. Originally: an officer responsible for the supply of wine to the royal household. Later: (the title of) an official of high rank in the court of a monarch, nobleman, etc., having various duties depending on the period or country in which the office is held. Frequently in chief butler (see note). Now chiefly historical.The office of chief butler in England dates from the 11th cent. The position was nominally associated with the supply, import, etc., of wine; later (until the early 19th cent.), the main duty of the chief butler was to provide service to the monarch at the coronation banquet. The office was hereditary, being associated in England with the earls of Arundel (later the dukes of Norfolk), and in Ireland with the earls and dukes of Ormond. Cf. vice-butler n. at vice- prefix 1a.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > holder of office > official of royal or great household > [noun] > in charge of food, table, or plate
butlerc1325
asseour1448
yeoman of the ewery1450
yeoman for the mouth1455
yeoman of the bottles1455
lardiner1469
yeoman of the buttery1473
surveyora1475
assewer1478
larderer1483
yeoman of the cellar1508
bread-bearer1518
groom-grubber1526
bottlemana1550
yeoman of the larder1585
saucery-man1691
plateman1842
plate-keeper1843
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 9034 Boþe willam & Richard is sones adreint were & is paniter & is chamberlein & is botiler al so.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 47 (MED) The emperour schulde be ichose by þe officers of þe empere; þese officers beeþ sevene..Boteller kyng is of Beeme.
c1425 (?a1400) Arthur (Longleat 55) l. 486 (MED) Also he buryed Bedewere Hys frend and hys Botyler.
1495 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VII (Electronic ed.) Parl. Oct. 1495 §37. m. 21 Item, of the chief buttler of England, .c.li.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) II. vii. f. lxv/1 Kyng Philip her Brother..sent vnto the kynge of spayn his chief Boteler with other: desyringe hym to perfourme all suche Couenauntes as atwene hym and his Fader were concluded.
1587 W. Baldwin et al. in J. Higgins Mirour for Magistrates (new ed.) iii. Burdet f. 244 (heading) How..Sir Nicholas Burdet, Chiefe Butler of Normandy, was slayne at Pontoise.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Grand bouteillier, the great Butler of France; an honourable officer, but out of date euer since Charles the seuenths time.
1669 E. Chamberlayne Angliæ Notitia (ed. 2) ii. 89 Edward Fitz-Theobald being long ago made Butler of Ireland, the Duke of Ormond..took the Surname of Butler.
1700 R. Brady Contin. of Compl. Hist. Eng. 185 In this Parlement there were made three Earls, Iohn of Eltham, the King's Brother, Earl of Cornwal, Roger Mortimer Earl of the Marches of Wales, and the Butler of Ireland Earl of Ormond.
1761 Gen. Evening Post 23 July 1/3 [He] claims to assist as Chief Butler of England on the day of the Coronation, for which he has a gold cup as his fee.
1844 G. L. Smyth Ireland I. v. 166 Being already butler of England, Henry made him butler of Ireland also, and soon after gave him the prisage of all wines imported into the country.
1887 Burke's Peerage 1068 James 7th Earl of Ormonde and 7th Butler had (1328) a renewed grant of the prisage of wines (which had been resumed by the crown).
1953 Life 27 Apr. 98/2 Bernard Marmaduke Fitzalan-Howard, Earl Marshal and Hereditary Marshal and Chief Butler of England.
2006 Irish Times (Nexis) 21 Aug. 15 The Anglo-Norman Theobald Walter..was made chief Butler of Ireland, one of the hereditary great offices of state.
Phrases
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the world > food and drink > drink > providing or serving drink > [phrase] > with a drink
with butler's grace1609
1609 J. Melton Sixe-folde Politician 33 Fidlers, who are regarded but for a baudy song..and when they haue done, are commonly sent away with Butlers grace.
P2. Originally and chiefly British. what the butler saw: (a title for) a sequence of pictures of a titillating or erotic nature viewed on a mutoscope or similar device; frequently attributive, designating a device of this kind. Now chiefly historical.
ΚΠ
1907 Brit. Jrnl. Photogr. 22 Mar. 225/2 There were several mutoscopes in the place... On one of the machines was written ‘What Tommy Saw Through the Keyhole’, on another ‘Spooning in the Park’, a third bore the legend ‘Matilda's Courtship’, and a fourth had written on it ‘What the Butler Saw’.
1930 A. P. Herbert Water Gipsies xviii. 258 They looked through the ‘Peeposcopes’ at a penny a time. These had alluring titles, such as..‘What the Butler Saw’.
1966 Listener 18 Aug. 236/2 It is from the fairground peep show and the what-the-butler-saw machine that the works of Chaplin, Lang, De Sica, and Fellini have evolved.
2008 Daily Mail (Nexis) 15 Aug. 22 ‘What the butler saw’ machines were a staple of British amusement arcades for much of the 20th century.
Compounds
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1591 H. Smith Exam. Vsury 31 They [sc. Vsurers] are like a Butlers box: for as all the counters at last come to the Butler; so all the mony at last commeth to the Vsurer.
1597 Returne fr. Parnassus Pt. 2 Prol. 44 The Pilgrimage to Pernassus, and the returne from Pernassus haue..hindred the buttlers box, and emptied the Colledge barrells.
1660 Bp. J. Taylor Ductor Dubitantium II. iii. iii. 201 Whoever lost, signior Papa, like the butlers box, was sure to get.
1699 H. Curson Compend. Laws Eng., Scotl. & Ireland 391 At such time they have divers Divertisments, as Feasting every day, Singing, Dancing, Dicing, which is..so Excessive, that the Butlers Box usually amounts to above 50 l. a Day and Night, With which and a Small Contribution from each Student, are the great Charges of the Christmass defrayed.
butler service n. personal service provided to guests at a hotel, on a cruise ship, etc., by a butler or similar member of staff.
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1902 N.Y. Times 19 Sept. 5/3 Each suite will have a private dining room, with elaborate offices for butler service.
2013 Trailfinder Autumn 28/4 86 stunning villas, all with private infinity pools, 24hr butler service and outdoor rain showers are nestled away amongst the lush greenery.
butler's pantry n. (originally) a room in a large house used for the storage of dishes, glassware, cutlery, etc.; (later) such a room, also used for serving meals, storing food, etc., and usually located between the kitchen and dining room; cf. butlery n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > setting table > table utensils > [noun] > place for keeping tableware
sculleryc1440
eweryc1460
silver scullery1686
butler's pantry1721
pewtery1864
plate room1931
1721 True Inventory Sir J. Fellowes 25 (heading) in Particulars Estates South-sea Company I Butler's Pantry.
1885 Harper's Mag. Mar. 544/1 An elderly cousin..was discovered..in the butler's pantry ogling an untouched Strasburg pie.
1917 New Country Life Jan. 53/1 Dining room dishes should always be washed in the butler's pantry as this is the ideal arrangement for separating the processes of work.
2007 A. Shreve Body Surfing 159 A long butler's pantry with glass cupboards on both sides.
butler's sink n. (also butler sink) a type of (usually large, rectangular) deep sink with vertical sides, traditionally made of glazed white fireclay; cf. Belfast sink n.
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1872 F. Rogers Bartholomew's Specif. Pract. Archit. ii. xvi. 259 Make the necessary preparations in the present cistern for supplying the new water-closets and butler's-sink.
1925 Manch. Guardian 14 Sept. 6/6 It combines the deep butler's sink with a wash-tub, and there is a place between the two for fitting a small wringer.
1995 G. Hall Dark Backward (1996) xxii. 387 The big butler sink and wooden draining board still stood beneath the..casement window.
2005 Period Living & Trad. Homes Apr. 34/1 The only reminders..in the kitchen are the butler's sink, the beamed ceiling and the cream-coloured Aga.
butler's tray n. (also butler tray) a type of wooden tray traditionally used for serving drinks and food, typically having hinged sides that fold flat and handholes on two or more sides to facilitate carrying.The tray often has an attached or associated stand, esp. one with foldable X-shaped legs; when used with a stand, also more fully butler's tray table.
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1761 Catal. Houshold Furnit. Sir S. Pile 8 A mahogany butler's tray, 5 bottle boards and stand.
1892 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker xxi. 331 Spirits and soda-water..stood ready on a butler's tray.
1987 Pop. Mech. May 89/2 Here's a classic mahogany butler's tray table you can build yourself.
2010 Ideal Home May (Living Room Ideas Suppl.) 4 The classic nest of tables and folding butler's trays take up little space but become invaluable when serving guests.
Derivatives
ˈbutler-like adj. resembling (that of) a butler; characteristic of a butler.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > domestic servant > [adjective] > belonging to or characteristic of butler
butler-like1809
butlerian1841
butlerish1864
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas I. v. 42 My place was to wait; and I handed about the glasses with so butler-like an air, as to be not a little complimented on my dexterity.
1880 E. Eiloart Dean's Wife III. ii. 16 Then his eye met that of the respectable butler-like man opposite.
1912 Harper's Weekly 7 Dec. 12/2 Pettigrew's cigar had gone out, but Striker, with almost butler-like alacrity, struck and held a match for him.
2010 C. R. Swindoll Insights on Romans 36 My own god..could be a serene, butler-like character who keeps me out of trouble with wisdom greater than my own.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
butlerv.
/ˈbʌtlə/, U.S. /ˈbətlər/ 1.
a. transitive. To act as butler for (a person); to serve (a person) as a butler. Chiefly in passive.In quot. 1737 in well butlered: provided with a suitable butler. The quotation is a comment on the translation of French amoustillez (see note in etymology).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > domestic servant > be in domestic service [verb (intransitive)] > do duties of butler > be served by butler
butler1737
1737 J. Ozell in tr. F. Rabelais Wks. I. i. xl. 316 (note) Well liquor'd. It should be well butler'd, well provided of one to serve Wine as quick as he should do. The Word used by Rabelais comes from Mousse, i.e. the Page of the Wine-Vessels.
1857 C. Dickens Little Dorrit ii. xvi. 461 As nations are made to be taxed, so families are made to be butlered.
1907 L. Osbourne Adventurer vii. 76 Put a butler between you and the world, and as a novelist you committed suicide. Take them all—good men butlered to death, everyone—atrophied into old leather.
1933 ‘R. Crompton’ William—the Rebel ii. 42 Mrs. Bott's butler had once butlered a duke and despised all Mrs. Bott's visitors on principle.
1979 Jet 22 Nov. 47/2 He moves from butlering a wealthy family to running the home of a governor.
2010 N.Y. Mag. 12 Apr. 57/2 Dine, spa, and be butlered like a blue blood.
b. intransitive. To act as butler; to carry out one's duties as butler.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > domestic servant > be in domestic service [verb (intransitive)] > do duties of butler
butlera1739
buttle1901
a1739 [implied in: C. Jarvis tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote (1742) II. iv. vii. 314 The calling he is of allows of no catering nor butlering. (at butlering n.)].
1916 C. E. Laughlin Reminisc. of James Whitcomb Riley ii. 28 Fuller pleaded guilty..begged for mercy, and, having been pardoned the theft, rose from his seat and resumed ‘butlering’.
1942 F. Lockridge & R. Lockridge Hanged for Sheep ii. 26 There must be a lot of work for Alice Something in a house as big as this if Sand only butlered and Mrs. Jensen only cooked.
2004 M. Hastings Armageddon (2005) vi. 162 The Nazis encouraged Germans to retain their domestic servants, of whom almost a million and a half were still butlering and maiding to the very end.
2. transitive. To serve or take charge of (wine, food, etc.) in one's capacity as butler.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > providing or serving drink > [verb (transitive)]
birleOE
drenchc1000
shenchOE
adrenchc1275
to drink to1297
tap1401
skinkc1405
propinec1450
brince?1567
liquor1575
to do right1600
dram1770
butler1826
jerk1868
to set up1880
drink1883
bartend1948
to break out1962
1826 Blackwood's Mag. 19 587/2 We have consigned the flasks..to the safe custody of Ambrose, till they can be butlered by Hogg.
1846 G. Croly Mod. Orlando ii. 42 Old Nestor, dropping in the salt and leeks, Achilles, butlering the wine and oil.
1916 C. E. Laughlin Reminisc. of James Whitcomb Riley ii. 29 Our food, elegantly ‘butlered’, was of the same Warsaw grocery store, paper-bag variety; but the service was distinguished.
2012 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 24 May e8/4 Least favorite [task]: Butlering drink trays. Try standing straight with a heavy metal tray, laden with 9 to 12 glasses, for two hours.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.?a1300
v.1737