footman:
(plural: ‘footmen’)
a footman on duty at a mansion
a man-servant whose job was to open doors, wait at tables, receive guests and did other simple jobs in a big house, such as a mansion, palace, etc., and was often dressed in special colourful and showy clothes, and the best of the footmen accompanied the lords and ladies on their horse carriages, standing or sitting at the back of the carriage;
a man-servant in the service of Her Majesty the Queen of the UK and some lesser peers who still hold the titles and old ways of living in Europe,
a soldier who fought on foot in olden times, also called ‘foot solder’;
a person who travels on foot (walking from place to place, not using vehicle of any kind);
a person who uses the road or street on foot (not a horse rider or motor vehicle driver) – a pedestrian,
a troop of footmen (foot soldiers)
Most of the rich family in the past used to have more than one footman doing different chores in their household staff.
Footmen in military in the past are equivalent to the modern day soldiers who fight on land, called ‘infantry’.
There are still some footmen working in different roles in the palaces, castles and mansions of the Royal families and of some lesser peers in Europe.
Some of the footmen who had served their masters and mistress when they were alive were given charges of their estates after the owners passed away, under the care of some trust, of course, and there are still such former ‘footmen’ who act as tour guides or in charges of the palaces, castles and mansions they worked at.
It is interesting to know that the footmen in the past were encouraged to participate in race-walking competitions in which a footman had to walk fast to reach a destination was called pedestrian, which word we use to refer to people that use the streets and roads on foot!
some footmen (-women) on a street (pedestrians)
for an article that clearly explains what a footman in the past is, please click here,
for an article in which a Royal ‘footman’ of the present day describes his job, please click here,
for an article that explains what a ‘footman’ (a foot soldier) is, please click here,
for a news article about the present day footman to Her Majesty the Queen, please click here,
and for an article about another present day footman, please click here.
(a footman moth)
Note 2: ‘Footman’, always with a capital ‘F’, is often found in the names of people, mostly as a surname, e.g. Steven Footman, David Footman, etc. For an article that explains the origin and popularity of this name, please click here & please click here.
