Where does “butlers” come from?
Butler comes from Middle English boteler, from Old French butiller, a derivative of Old French but (cask) with the suffix -ier, ultimately from Latin -arius via Latin -are and Old Latin -os.
butlers (English): plural of butler
Ancestry of “butlers”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | butler | A manservant having charge of wines and liquors;... |
| 2 | Middle English | boteler | butler |
| 3 | Old French | butiller | butler |
| 4 | Old French | boteille | — |
| 5 | Latin | butticula | bottle |
| 6 | Latin | buttis | cask, barrel |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | πυτίνη | a flagon, flask |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰeHw- | to swell, puff |