valet-de-place en · NOUN
Etymology
Borrowed from French [Term?].
Meanings
-
(historical) In France, a person who offered his services as a guide, messenger, etc. for hire, especially to strangers.
I therefore added to my own English servants […] a Frenchman, who had formerly served me as valet de place, and of whom I had a very good opinion.
1792, Charlotte Smith, Desmond, Broadview, published 2001, page 383:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| valets-de-place | Number=Plur | lexicographic |