footman

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footman^¹

Where it comes from

From Middle English fotman, footman, foteman (“foot soldier, running footman”), from Old English *fōtman, *fōtmann (attested only as Old English fēþman, fēþemann (“footman”), equivalent to foot + man.

noun footmen

archaic A soldier who marches and fights on foot; a foot soldier.
A man in waiting; a male servant whose duties are to attend the door, the carriage, the table, etc. […] on October 29, 1888, the Russian imperial train was derailed at Borki by defective track, and twenty-one persons were killed. Although these did not include the Emperor Alexander III, who escaped with a bruising, a footman serving coffee to him at the critical moment, and his dog, which was lyin
historical A servant who runs in front of his master's carriage. When he travelled by coach the vehicle was accompanied by his liveried footmen running alongside to ensure its smooth passage (footmen would not be indoor servants until a century later).
Similar: runner, running footman
A metallic stand with four feet, for keeping anything warm before a fire.
A moth of the family Arctiidae (or subfamily Arctiinae); so called from its livery-like colors.
Similar: footman moth
Especially, a common footman (Manulea lurideola).
Similar: footman moth
A bar that connects the treadle of a spinning wheel to the wheel.

Footman^²

proper noun Footmans

A surname.

Translations

Every language

noun moth of the subfamily Arctiinae

Deutsch	Bärenspinner

noun male servant

Français	laquais, valet de pied
Deutsch	Lakai
Italiano	valletto
Ελληνικά	λακές lakés

noun servant who runs in front of his master's carriage

Español	lacayo

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MLA

"footman." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/footman. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

footman. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/footman

Chicago

"footman." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/footman.

BibTeX

@misc{footman_2026,
  title = {footman},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/footman},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}