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 and the military.
United Kingdom Historically, houseboy was a term used in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for a male domestic servant. Houseboys were usually, but not always, native people 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
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