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houseboy

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

See also:house boyandhouse-boy

WOTD – 19 May 2021

Fromhouse +‎boy(“young male; (historical or offensive) non-white male servant regardless of age”).^[1]

houseboy (pluralhouseboys)

(chiefly historical) Ayoungmaledomestic servant, especially in aBritishcolony informertimes.
Coordinate terms:housegirl,housemaid
- 1935, Ralph Lionel German,Handbook to British Malaya, 1935,[London]: [R. L. German]: Obtainable from the Malay Information Agency,Waterlow and Sons,→OCLC, page50:
  House servants are usually either Chinese or Tamil, the former predominating, especially in towns of any size. The domestic staff will in general consist of ahouseboy (in large establishments twohouseboys), a water carrier (tukang ayer), whose duties include washing dishes and preparing baths, a cook, a gardener, a chauffeur orsais, and perhaps anayah (if Chinese,amah) or two, according to the size of the family.
- 1949, Office of International Trade withBureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce,International Reference Service, volume 6, Washington, D.C.:United States Government Printing Office,→OCLC, page64:
  A married man with a family of three living in a private house will require in most cases a cook,houseboy, an amah (female servant) for washing and ironing, a second amah to take care of small children or infants, and one or possibly two gardeners depending on the size of the lot. A syce (chauffeur) is optional in each individual case. Cooks,houseboys, and amahs are usually Chinese, while gardeners and chauffeurs are Malay.
(chiefly historical, derogatory, offensive) Anon-white adult male domestic servant.