English

Alternative forms

• house boy

Noun

houseboy ‎(plural houseboys)

1. A male domestic servant.
   • 1935, Ralph Lionel German, Handbook to British Malaya, 1935, [London]: [R. L. German]: Obtainable from the Malay Information Agency, Waterlow and Sons, OCLC 27325434, page 50:

     House servants are usually either Chinese or Tamil, the former predominating, especially in towns of any size. The domestic staff will in general consist of a houseboy (in large establishments two houseboys), a water carrier (tukang ayer), whose duties include washing dishes and preparing baths, a cook, a gardener, a chauffeur or sais, and perhaps an ayah (if Chinese, amah) or two, according to the size of the family.

   • 1949, Office of International Trade; Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, International Reference Service, volume 6, Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, OCLC 747291382, page 64:

     A married man with a family of three living in a private house with require in most cases a cook, houseboy, an amah (female servant) for washing and ironing, a second amah to take care of small children or infants, and one or possibly two gardeners depending on the size of the lot. A syce (chauffeur) is optional in each individual case. Cooks, houseboys, and amahs are usually Chinese, while gardeners and chauffeurs are Malay.

Translations

Cebuano

Etymology

From English houseboy.

Noun

houseboy

1. An errand boy; a houseboy.

Synonyms

• (errand boy): boy, muchacho, mutsatso