majordomo

plural majordomos · alternative major domo · alternative major-domo

1. The head servant or official in a royal Spanish or Italian household; later, any head servant in a wealthy household in a foreign country; a leading servant or butler.

   Pancho, the major-domo, came up to say that Colonel Morales was waiting below. Appleby bade him bring out cigars and wine, and rose from his seat when Morales came in.

   1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 22, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC

   1 more example

   In return for ruling over the king's palace, serving as the monarch's alter ego in the domestic sphere, and bearing the burden of accountability, the majordomo was compensated amply.

   2002, Marta VanLandingham, chapter 7, in Transforming the State: King, Court and Political Culture in the Realms of Aragon (1213-1387), →ISBN, page 164

2. USSouthwestA manager of a hacienda, ranch or estate.

   She called upon a Missouri cousin named Edward Hardy Clark, who became the indispensable majordomo of the Hearst estate.

   2006, Gray A. Brechin, chapter 5, in Imperial San Francisco: Urban Power, Earthly Ruin, →ISBN, page 212

3. USAny overseer, organizer, person in command.

   The United Nation's climate majordomo -- tasked with herding 192 nations toward a do-or-die deal by year's end -- does not have the power to impose an agreement on how to curb greenhouse gases and cope with its consequences.

   2009 June 7, The Economic Times