▪ I. valet, n.
(ˈvælɪt, ˈvæleɪ)
Also 6–7 vallet (6 -ett, Sc. wallett), 7 valett; 8 Sc. vallie.
[a. F. valet, OF. valet, vallet, vaslet, prob. related to vassal. Cf. vadelect, valect, and varlet.]
1. A man-servant performing duties chiefly relating to the person of his master; a gentleman's personal attendant.
| 1567 Fenton Trag. Disc. i. (1898) I. 34 Not worthy anye waye to be vallet to the worste of us. 1587 Reg. Privy Council Scot. IV. 181 Ane of the vallettis of the Kingis Majesteis chalmer. 1614 Selden Titles Honor 333 At this day, a Diener, seruant or vallet is both in Alemanique and Belgique called Ein Knecht. 1664 Butler Hud. ii. ii. 651 Before the Dame, and round about, March'd Whiflers, and Staffiers on foot, With Lacquies, Grooms, Valets, and Pages. 1691 Satyr agst. French 15 That Gentleman does much himself forget, Who in his Chamber has not French Vallet. Ibid. 25 From hence they'd fly,..And leave not one poor Vallet here behind. 1719 Hamilton Ep. to Ramsay ii. viii, I wad nae care to be thy vallie, Or thy recorder. 1771 Smollett Humph. Cl. (1815) 102 We have taken an occasional valet, whom I intend hereafter to hire as my own servant. a 1845 Barham Ingol. Leg. Ser. iii. Knight & Lady, Thompson, the Valet, Look'd gravely at Sally. 1856 Sir B. Brodie Psychol. Inq. I. vi. 218 The rich man's valet studies his master's temper and caprices. 1885 Athenæum 26 Sept. 393/2 The chief characters in his plays are heavy fathers and confidential valets. |
| fig. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. i. i, Which would not end till ‘France’ (La France, as she named her royal valet) finally mustered heart to see Choiseul. |
2. Mil. A footman acting as attendant or servant to a horseman.
rare. (
Cf. varlet 1 b.)
| 1591 Garrard's Art Warre 269 There be..two quarters for horsemen, the which their vallets are to entrench with a smal trench. 1832 tr. Sismondi's Ital. Rep. xiii. 281 They became terror-struck when they perceived that the French caused dismounted horsemen to be put to death by their valets. |
3. a. Appositive, as
valet-courier,
valet harquebusier,
valet maid,
valet-musician.
| 1598 Dallington Meth. Trav. K 4 [A horseman] who shall quitte his horse, and serue on foot, prouided that hee haue with him a vallet Harquebusier. 1845 E. Holmes Life Mozart 5 The Archbishop of Saltzburg..entertained him in the capacity of valet-musician. 1867 Carlyle Remin. (1881) II. 32 The clever old valet maid that waited on them. 1897 ‘H. S. Merriman’ In Kedar's Tents xxii. 243 A valet-courier of taciturn habit. |
b. Attributive, as
valet judgement,
valet service,
valet world;
valet parking N. Amer., a service provided at a restaurant, etc., in which an attendant parks patrons' motor vehicles; hence (as back-formation)
valet-park v.| 1855 Carlyle Misc. (1857) IV. 354 Sublime to the valet judgment. |
| 1983 C. Hyde Tenth Flight ix. 87 They valet-parked the Triumph and they made the flight with ten minutes to spare. |
| 1960 Britannica Bk. of Year 558/1 Valet parking..referred to a system in which an attendant was responsible for parking the car. 1976 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 8 Nov. 16/7 A swish little marquee blinks out an offer of valet parking. 1984 Tampa (Florida) Tribune 5 Apr. 3d/5 Reservations are due for the Scholarship Night at Tampa Jai-Alai Fronton... Valet parking is available. |
| 1939 R. Stout Some buried Caesar xvi. 233 You should have put on some old clothes. The valet service here is terrible. 1981 D. Boggis Time to Betray i. 9 Rousselot wore a different pair of expensive slacks, with the abandon of a man used to valet service. |
| 1843 Carlyle Past & Pr. i. iv, It is to the sham-hero that..the valet world belongs. |
Hence
ˈvaletage, the service rendered by a valet;
ˈvalethood, the state or condition of being a valet;
ˈvaletism, the character or spirit of a valet.
| 1843 Carlyle Past & Pr. ii. ix, The fruit of long ages of confirmed Valethood;..cloth-worship and quack-worship. 1875 Helps Soc. Press. xiii. 183 To far other persons besides the valet by reason of his valetism, does the hero often cease to be a hero. 1890 Sat. Rev. 17 May 588/2 The vassalage or the valetage is prompted by an honest personal devotion, like that of Tom Steele to O'Connell. |
▸
orig. and chiefly
U.S. A (usually metal or wooden) rack on which clothing may be hung in order to retain its shape, facilitate efficient dressing, etc. Also
occas. in extended use.
| 1942 N.Y. Times 22 Nov. 34 (advt.) Give him a valet rack to keep his clothes in apple-pie order. This perfect ‘servant’ holds his suit, shirt, tie, undies, socks and shoes in complete readiness for speedy dressing. 1980 TWA Ambassador Oct. 92/3 Plot in this post-Vonnegut, post-Brautigan novel is really little more than a rickety valet upon which to hang changes of rhetoric. 2003 Interior Design Jan. 103/2 Their customizable contemporary valet, constructed from aluminum, stainless steel, and either fiberboard or hardwood, includes hangers, tie rack, mirror, and shelf. |
▪ II. ˈvalet, v. [f. valet n.] a. trans. To wait upon, to attend or serve, as a valet.
| 1840 J. T. J. Hewlett P. Priggins xx, He always comes down to college to valet me, take my things away to brush, and so on. 1861 Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. i, Fancy me waited upon and valeted by a stout party in black, of quiet, gentlemanly manners. 1886 A. Griffiths Pauper Peer i, If he keeps no servant, the proprietor of the establishment will valet him. |
| refl. 1893 McCarthy Dictator i, In the most splendid days of Gloria, he had always valeted himself. |
| absol. 1885 G. Allen Babylon xv, But can he valet, I wonder? |
b. To look after (clothes, etc.).
| 1931, 1951 [see valeting vbl. n.]. |
c. To clean (a motor vehicle).
| 1972 Drive Spring 147/1 It's not difficult to imagine an owner confining his chauffeur to valeting the car, while he hogs the driving. 1976 Star (Sheffield) 20 Nov. (Advt.), Young Man wanted..to serve petrol, valet cars, take forecourt enquiries. |
Hence
ˈvaleting vbl. n.| 1857 Hughes Tom Brown i. iii, He would have gone without nether integuments altogether, sooner than have had recourse to female valeting. 1861 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. III. 77, I have all the valeting to do myself. 1931 Times 16 Mar. 1/3 (Advt.), Clothes valeting... They will stand years of hard wear if you send them to us to be turned. 1951 Good Housek. Home Encycl. 296/1 Careful valeting lengthens the life of clothes. 1976 Drive Jan.–Feb. 11/2 The eight suggestions that, in order of importance, would contribute most to the economical running and upkeep of the average family car were: 1 regular servicing;..5 regular valeting. |