Category:Butler

But"ler, n. Etym: [OE. boteler, F. bouteillier a bottle-bearer, a cupbearer, fr. LL. buticularius, fr. buticula bottle. See Bottle a hollow vessel.]

Defn: An officer in a king's or a nobleman's household, whose principal business it is to take charge of the liquors, plate, etc.; the head servant in a large house. The butler and the baker of the king of Egypt. Gen. xl. 5. Your wine locked up, your butler strolled abroad. Pope.

- ---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Butler - Properly a servant in charge of the wine (Genesis 40:1; Genesis 41:9). The Hebrew word, mashkeh, thus translated is rendered also (plural) "cup-bearers" (1 Kings 10:5; 2 Chronicles 9:4). Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1:11) was cup-bearer to king Artaxerxes. It was a position of great responsibility and honour in royal households.