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Webster 1913 Edition


factotum

fac-to′tum

(făk-tō′tŭm)
,
Noun.
;
pl.
factotums
(-tŭmz)
.
[L., do everything;
facere
to do +
totus
all : cf. F.
factotum
. See
Fact
, and
Total
.]
A person employed to do all kinds of work or business; a person with many different responsibilities.
B. Jonson.

Webster 1828 Edition


Factotum

FACTO'TUM

,
Noun.
[L. do every thing.] a servant employed to do all kinds of work.

Definition 2024


factotum

factotum

See also: factótum

English

Noun

factotum (plural factotums)

  1. (dated) A person having many diverse activities or responsibilities.
  2. (dated) A general servant.
    • 1847, Herman Melville, Omoo, Chapter 73,
      I had almost forgotten Monee, the grinning old man who prepared our meal. […] He was Po-Po’s factotum—cook, butler, and climber of the bread-fruit and cocoa-nut trees; and, added to all else, a mighty favourite with his mistress; with whom he would sit smoking and gossiping by the hour.
  3. A jack of all trades.
  4. An individual employed to do all sorts of duties.

Synonyms

Translations

References

  • factotum in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fɑkˈtoː.tʏm/
  • Hyphenation: fac‧to‧tum

Etymology

From New Latin factotum (literally do everything), from Latin fac, present singular imperative of faciō (do, make) + tōtum (everything).

Noun

factotum m (plural factotums, diminutive factotumpje n)

  1. factotum (jack-of-all-trades)

Synonyms


Italian

Noun

factotum m (invariable)

  1. An individual employed to do all sorts of duties.