factotum

[ fak-toh-tuhm ]
See synonyms for factotum on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person, as a handyman or servant, employed to do all kinds of work around the house.

  2. any employee or official having many different responsibilities.

Origin of factotum

1
1560–70; <Medieval Latin, equivalent to Latin fac make, do (imperative of facere) + tōtum, neuter of tōtus all

Words Nearby factotum

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use factotum in a sentence

  • From that day I became Mr. Moncton's factotum, his confidential clerk, and principal agent.

  • Such was Mr. Plimmins, Mr. Plaskwith's factotum, foreman in the shop, assistant editor to the Mercury.

    Night and Morning, Complete | Edward Bulwer-Lytton
  • Ere long he had been taken into the company as an actor, and was soon spoken of as a ‘Johannes factotum.’

  • Peter judged him the factotum of the little household: he knew where the biscuits were kept and the state of the grocer's account.

    The Tragic Muse | Henry James
  • I hired as errand boy and general factotum to a small grocer down near the market.

    Corporal Cameron | Ralph Connor

British Dictionary definitions for factotum

factotum

/ (fækˈtəʊtəm) /


noun
  1. a person employed to do all kinds of work

Origin of factotum

1
C16: from Medieval Latin, from Latin fac! do! + tōtum, from tōtus (adj) all

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012