A footman is a male household servant who serves at meals. Once a commonly employed servant in great houses, footmen are much rarer today, as few households can afford large retinues of servants and retainers. Male symbol Male is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces sperm. ... The household is the basic unit of analysis in many microeconomic and government models. ... Servant has a number of meaning: A servant is another word for domestic worker, a person who is hired to provide regular household or other duties, and receives compensation. ... 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. ...