Meanings
plural butleries · alternative archaic butlerie
- countableA butler's pantry; a serving pantry.
- uncountableThe work or role of a butler.
The dark side of butlery was even more evident during the height of the Evil Empire, when the strongest and most enterprising local men were made into footmen and majordomos, completely robbed of their dignity but paid for a month's work what they might otherwise make in a year.
2007, Steven A. Grasse, The Evil Empire: 101 Ways That England Ruined the World, page 53
Origin
- Medieval Latinbutellaria
- Old Frenchboteillerie
- Middle Englishbuttillary
- Englishbutlery
From Middle English buttillary, buttlarye, botelerye, botelerie, from Old French boteillerie, butelerie and Medieval Latin butellaria.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Medieval Latin
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
butlery. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/butlery
“butlery.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/butlery. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “butlery,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/butlery.
Source: butlery on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.