Houseboy

For the novel by Ferdinand Oyono, see Houseboy (novel).

Houseboy

Houseboy with child in New Guinea, c. 1930s
Occupation
Occupation type	Domestic labour
Activity sectors	Housework
Description
Related jobs	Maid

Houseboy is a term which refers to a typically male domestic worker or personal assistant who performs cleaning and other forms of personal chores. The term has a record of being used in the British Empire, military slang.

United Kingdom

Historically, houseboy was a term used in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for a male domestic servant. He was usually, but not always, a native person who worked for a British family living in the non-British regions of the empire. A female housecleaner was termed a housegirl. Both sexes often wore uniform, due to their status as domestic servants.

Military slang

Houseboy was also used as an American slang term originating in the Second World War for a young teenager who helped American soldiers perform basic responsibilities like cleaning, laundry, ironing, shoe-shining, running errands, etc. The British English term for this occupation was 'Batman'.

See also

• Housekeeper
• Fagging
• wikt:Garçon, the French word for "boy", also used as an occupational title
• House officer, previously "houseman", various grades of doctor in British hospitals
• House slave, as opposed to field slaves, during the period of slavery in the United States

References