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1224:
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43:
424:, learning some relevant skills as part of that job, and picking up others when deputising for their master's valet, or by performing valeting tasks for his sons before they had a valet of their own, or for male guests who did not travel with a valet. Others started out as soldier-servants to army officers (
435:
Traditionally, a valet did much more than merely lay out clothes and take care of personal items. He was also responsible for making travel arrangements, dealing with any bills and handling all money matters concerning his master or his master's household.
184:, but the term "valet" by itself most often refers to a normal servant responsible for the clothes and personal belongings of an employer, and making minor arrangements. In the United States, the term most often refers to a
458:
was a position of some status, often given to artists, musicians, poets and others, who generally spent most of their time on their specialized work. The role was also, at least during the late
469:
Valets, like butlers and most specialized domestic staff, have become relatively rare. A more common, though still infrequent, arrangement is the general servant performing combined roles.
591:
402:
of the house had his own valet, and in the very grandest great houses, other adult members of the employing family (e.g. master's sons) would also have their own valets.
391:. The valet performs personal services such as maintaining his employer's clothes, running his bath and perhaps (especially in the past) shaving his employer.
204:
as "personal man-servant" is recorded since 1567, though use of the term in the French-speaking
English medieval court is older, and the variant form
974:, in modern English it came to be used for the various other male servants originally called va(r)let other than the gentleman's gentleman, when in
1258:
1337:
413:
in charge of the household staff – might have to double as his employer's valet. In a bachelor's household the valet might perform light
1170:
1144:
1118:
602:
631:
929:'s valet: an employee who maintains a jockey's wardrobe and ensures the proper uniform is worn for each horse the jockey races.
962:
Clothes valets are a piece of furniture also referred to as a men's valet. A majority are free standing and made out of wood.
1093:
503:'s personal valet. On July 6, 2023, he pleaded not guilty for allegedly moving boxes of classified materials at Mar-a-Lago.
1251:
288:(French for "room valet", in modern terms the bedroom, though not originally so), described in the following section.
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At a court, even minor princes and high officials may be assigned one, but in a smaller household the
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8:
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1072:"Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and hundreds more"
1041:
837:
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651:
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439:
1286:
1119:"Here's The Unsealed Indictment Over Donald Trump's Handling Of Classified Documents"
937:
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24:
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Since the 16th century, the word has traditionally been pronounced as rhyming with
173:
145:
100:
224:"man's servant", originally "squire, young man", assumed to be from Gallo-Romance
169:
970:
While in French this word remained restricted to the feudal use for a (knight's)
681:
660:
621:
586:
576:
477:
384:
161:
139:
1311:
685:
388:
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This article is about the term for male servants. For the village in Iran, see
691:
Edward Henry
Masterman, the victim's valet and a suspect in Agatha Christie's
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225:
466:, a common first step or training period in a nobleman's career at court.
913:
car valet: an employee who is paid to clean people's cars professionally.
636:
596:
511:
492:
463:
459:
451:
395:
181:
165:
20:
1236:
1223:
1094:"Who was Sydney Johnson? How Edward's valet really met Mohamed Al-Fayed"
420:
Valets learned the skills for their role in various ways. Some began as
1145:"Trump valet Walt Nauta pleads not guilty in classified documents case"
848:
723:
641:
496:
488:
246:
999:
303:, as in French, is now common, particularly in the United States. The
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421:
663:, starred in a series of stories until Wodehouse's death in 1975
220:(the "t" being silent in modern French), Old French variants of
1276:
975:
971:
942:
926:
910:: a service employee who parks cars for guests, only from 1960.
820:
750:
656:
555:
406:
270:
237:
189:
904:
valet: an employee who performs personal services for guests.
901:
1301:
1031:
1175:
923:
term for a person who accompanies a wrestler to the ring.
726:
on Benny's radio and television shows, introduced in 1937
529:
carves him brushing his master's clothes whilst studying
525:, was a studious person who later became a lay brother. (
383:
A valet or "gentleman's gentleman" is a gentleman's male
209:
164:
who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the
897:
is also used for people performing specific services:
295:, though an alternative pronunciation, rhyming with
67:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
1324:
1137:
710:Pork, Gerald O'Hara's valet in the 1936 novel
442:, the most senior of the thirty-six valets to
232:"young nobleman, squire, page", diminutive of
1252:
933:Other forms of valet-like personnel include:
491:, a former military valet, who worked at the
30:"Varlet" redirects here. For other uses, see
282:
258:
23:. For valets in professional wrestling, see
544:Figaro, the Count of Almaviva's valet from
351:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
264:
1259:
1245:
506:
472:A notable 20th century domestic valet was
1266:
371:Learn how and when to remove this message
127:Learn how and when to remove this message
1086:
510:
280:The modern use is usually short for the
188:, and the role is often confused with a
138:
1111:
998:also could mean an unprincipled man; a
879:), in the Julian Fellowes period drama
1325:
737:, which was adapted into a 1941 film,
1338:Personal care and service occupations
1240:
446:, was a powerful figure, who ran the
387:; the closest female equivalent is a
253:"young man, squire" (source of Welsh
180:and specialists such as artists in a
644:, the valet to Fyodor Pavlovitch in
476:who served as personal valet to the
349:adding citations to reliable sources
316:
65:adding citations to reliable sources
36:
1171:"Masterpiece | Downton Abbey | PBS"
212:). Both are French importations of
13:
847:), millionaire Caledon Hockley's (
245:"servant", possibly cognate to an
14:
1349:
1216:
851:) English valet in the 1997 film
515:Carving of "Bazin", the valet to
312:
1222:
951:
680:George (or Georges), created by
321:
41:
1210:Nouveau Petit Larousse Illustré
889:
632:Around the World in Eighty Days
195:
52:needs additional citations for
1163:
1064:
703:, fictional sidekick/valet of
263:"servant, vassal, man", Irish
1:
1227:The dictionary definition of
1052:
835:), from the 1981 comedy film
480:and later to the businessman
1179:. 2011-10-18. Archived from
780:novella, 1958 play and 1963
694:Murder on the Orient Express
7:
1005:
764:The character "Valet" from
569:in the 1787 opera by Mozart
309:lists both pronunciations.
10:
1354:
955:
776:Hugo Barrett, in the 1948
536:
487:Another notable person is
29:
18:
1272:
965:
617:The Count of Monte Cristo
539:List of fictional butlers
306:Oxford English Dictionary
257:"youth, servant", Breton
986:('foot varlet', compare
749:, valet to Bruce Wayne (
273:, possibly derived from
554:(1786), as well as the
507:Famous fictional valets
32:Varlet (disambiguation)
921:professional wrestling
806:movies, introduced in
647:The Brothers Karamazov
551:The Marriage of Figaro
534:
283:
265:
259:
176:was a role for junior
149:
1267:Modern cleaning roles
740:Here Comes Mr. Jordan
718:Rochester van Jones (
669:, created in 1923 by
659:, created in 1915 by
514:
448:Château de Versailles
142:
863:), in the 2001 film
629:, in the 1873 novel
608:The Three Musketeers
565:Leporello, valet of
522:The Three Musketeers
345:improve this section
208:is cited from 1456 (
61:improve this article
1098:The Daily Telegraph
582:The Pickwick Papers
444:Louis XIV of France
432:to naval officers.
1042:Personal assistant
843:"Spicer" Lovejoy (
809:A Shot in the Dark
794:Inspector Clouseau
713:Gone With the Wind
652:Fyodor Dostoyevsky
562:operas based on it
535:
440:Alexandre Bontemps
277:, a related term.
150:
16:Personal attendant
1320:
1319:
1212:(in French, 1952)
747:Alfred Pennyworth
743:, and other films
729:Sisk, created in
707:, created in 1936
675:Lord Peter Wimsey
671:Dorothy L. Sayers
381:
380:
373:
137:
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25:Valet (wrestling)
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1287:Exterior cleaner
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772:Jean-Paul Sartre
722:), the valet of
705:The Green Hornet
684:in 1926, in the
600:
482:Mohamed Al-Fayed
456:valet de chambre
417:duties as well.
376:
369:
365:
362:
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325:
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284:valet de chambre
269:"servant"). See
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978:usually called
968:
960:
954:
892:
817:Sebastian Cabot
800:partner in the
735:Heaven Can Wait
682:Agatha Christie
661:P. G. Wodehouse
622:Alexandre Dumas
594:
587:Charles Dickens
577:Samuel Pickwick
541:
527:Thomas Nicholls
509:
478:Duke of Windsor
377:
366:
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143:A 17th-century
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1074:. Bartleby.com
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857:
841:
829:
815:Giles French (
813:
790:
774:
762:
753:), created by
744:
733:'s 1938 play,
727:
720:Eddie Anderson
716:
708:
698:
689:
686:Hercule Poirot
678:
664:
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614:Baptistin, in
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474:Sydney Johnson
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329:
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313:Domestic valet
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234:Medieval Latin
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1183:on 2011-10-18
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1151:. 6 July 2023
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984:valet de pied
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882:Downton Abbey
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877:Brendan Coyle
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871:Robert Altman
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825:Family Affair
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796:'s valet and
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778:Robin Maugham
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495:and later at
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361:February 2011
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335:
330:This section
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186:parking valet
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170:Ancien RĂ©gime
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78: –
77:
73:
72:Find sources:
66:
62:
56:
55:
50:This article
48:
44:
39:
38:
33:
26:
22:
1306:
1292:Housekeeping
1229:
1209:
1198:
1197:
1185:. Retrieved
1181:the original
1174:
1165:
1153:. Retrieved
1139:
1127:. Retrieved
1113:
1101:. Retrieved
1088:
1076:. Retrieved
1066:
1057:
1056:
995:
983:
969:
961:
932:
894:
893:
890:Other valets
880:
875:John Bates (
866:Gosford Park
864:
861:Derek Jacobi
852:
845:David Warner
836:
833:John Gielgud
831:Hobson (Sir
823:
807:
803:Pink Panther
801:
798:martial arts
785:
782:Joseph Losey
765:
738:
734:
731:Harry Segall
711:
692:
645:
630:
627:Passepartout
615:
606:
580:
567:Don Giovanni
549:
546:Beaumarchais
520:
501:Donald Trump
486:
471:
468:
438:
434:
419:
415:housekeeping
409:– the
404:
393:
382:
367:
358:
343:Please help
331:
304:
300:
296:
292:
290:
281:
279:
274:
254:
250:
242:
236:
230:vassellittus
229:
226:Vulgar Latin
221:
217:
213:
205:
201:
200:In English,
199:
196:Word origins
157:
153:
151:
144:
123:
117:October 2014
114:
104:
97:
90:
83:
71:
59:Please help
54:verification
51:
1103:12 November
1022:Housekeeper
885:(2010–2015)
828:(1966–1971)
787:The Servant
755:Don Cameron
637:Jules Verne
601:, valet to
595: [
575:, valet to
493:White House
464:Renaissance
460:Middle Ages
396:great house
389:lady's maid
182:royal court
166:Middle Ages
21:Valet, Iran
1327:Categories
1187:2024-06-08
1078:28 October
1053:References
849:Billy Zane
770:(1944) by
724:Jack Benny
650:(1879) by
642:Smerdyakov
620:(1844) by
603:D'Artagnan
585:(1836) by
573:Sam Weller
537:See also:
497:Mar-a-Lago
489:Walt Nauta
247:Old Celtic
160:is a male
87:newspapers
1047:Valet boy
1037:Majordomo
1012:Chauffeur
994:English,
859:Probert (
819:) in the
411:majordomo
332:does not
275:yonge man
238:vassallus
178:courtiers
1123:HuffPost
1006:See also
759:Bob Kane
592:Planchet
531:theology
462:and the
430:stewards
1297:Janitor
1282:Cleaner
1199:Sources
1017:Footman
992:archaic
988:footman
947:Dresser
854:Titanic
767:No Exit
761:in 1943
673:in the
560:Rossini
548:' play
422:footmen
385:servant
353:removed
338:sources
241:, from
162:servant
101:scholar
76:"Valet"
1277:Butler
1155:6 July
1129:9 June
996:varlet
990:). In
980:lackey
976:livery
972:squire
966:Varlet
943:Bedder
938:Batman
927:jockey
838:Arthur
821:sitcom
812:(1964)
792:Kato,
751:Batman
697:(1934)
688:novels
677:series
657:Jeeves
611:(1844)
556:Mozart
517:Aramis
452:courts
426:batmen
407:butler
400:master
398:, the
293:pallet
271:yeoman
251:wasso-
243:vassus
222:vaslet
218:varlet
206:varlet
190:butler
158:varlet
103:
96:
89:
82:
74:
1307:Valet
1230:valet
1058:Notes
1000:rogue
917:valet
902:hotel
895:Valet
784:film
599:]
519:, of
450:. In
428:) or
394:In a
301:allay
297:array
249:root
214:valet
202:valet
154:valet
108:JSTOR
94:books
1302:Maid
1157:2023
1131:2023
1105:2022
1080:2014
1032:Maid
1027:Jack
919:: a
757:and
701:Kato
558:and
336:any
334:cite
299:and
266:foss
260:goaz
255:gwas
168:and
80:news
1176:PBS
635:by
605:of
579:in
499:as
347:by
216:or
210:OED
156:or
63:by
1329::
1173:.
1147:.
1121:.
1096:.
1002:.
597:fr
533:.)
484:.
454:,
192:.
172:,
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1159:.
1133:.
1107:.
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374:)
368:(
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