A footman, plural -men, is a male household servant who serves at meals. The shield and spear of the Roman God Mars are often used to represent the male sex In heterogamous species, male is the sex of an organism, or of a part of an organism, which typically produces smaller, mobile gametes (spermatozoa) that are able to fertilise female gametes (ova). ... The household is the basic unit of analysis in many microeconomic and government models. ... A servant is a person who is hired to provide regular household or other duties, and receives compensation. ...

Domestics

Once a commonly employed servant in great houses, footmen are much rarer today, as few households can afford large retinues of servants and retainers. A great house is a large and stately residence; the term encompasses different styles of dwelling in different countries. ...

The name derives from the attendants who ran beside or behind the carriages of aristocrats, many of whom were chosen for their physical attributes.

The first footman is the highest ranking and serves as deputy butler; he acts as butler in the butler's absence. // For other uses see Butler (disambiguation) The butler is a senior servant in a large household. ...

In a larger household, the footmen may be assigned specific duties, such as the silver specialist, but usually the footmen perform a range of duties which include serving meals, opening and closing doors, carrying heavy items, or moving furniture for the housemaids to clean behind. The footmen may also double as valets, especially for visiting guests. A maidservant or in current usage maid is a female employed in domestic service. ... A valet or gentlemans gentleman is a mans male servant. ...

If a minor, he may be called footboy.

Homonym furniture

A metal stand, usually of polished steel or brass, and either oblong or oval in shape, for keeping plates and dishes hot before a dining room fire.

In the days before the general use of hot-water dishes the footman possessed definite utility, but although it is still in occasional use, it is now chiefly regarded as an ornament. It was especially common in the hardware counties of England, where it is still frequently seen; the simple conventionality of its form is not inelegant.

Sources and references

(incomplete) This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...