valet
pronunciation
How to pronounce valet in British English:
UK [ˈvæleɪ]
How to pronounce valet in American English:
US ['væleɪ]
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- Noun:
- a manservant who acts as a personal attendant to his employer
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- Verb:
- serve as a personal attendant to
Word Origin
- valet
- valet: see varlet
- valet (n.)
- "personal man-servant," mid-14c. (late 12c. as a surname), from Old French valet, variant of vaslet "man's servant, workman's assistant," originally "squire, young man, youth of noble birth" (12c.), from Gallo-Roman *vassellittus "young nobleman, squire, page," diminutive of Medieval Latin vassallus, from vassus "servant" (see vassal). Modern sense is usually short for valet de chambre; the general sense of "male household servant of the meaner sort" going with the variant form varlet. First recorded use of valet parking is from 1959.
Example
- 1. In about five minutes his valet appeared , half-dressed and looking very drowsy .
- 2. No man is a hero oto his valet .
- 3. No man is a hero to his valet ; and no woman is a heroine to her children 's nanny .
- 4. To have his luggage packed by his valet the day before he is kidnapped ?
- 5. It was long past noon when he awoke . His valet had crept several times on tiptoe into the room to see if he was stirring .