Dictionary Definition
factotum n : a servant employed to do a variety
of jobs
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Noun
- A person having many diverse activities or responsibilities.
- 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.
- 1847, Herman
Melville, Omoo'', Chapter 73,
- idiom "Jack of all trades".
Translations
Person having many responsibilities
- Danish: altmuligmand
- Greek: παντοποιός (pantopoiós)
A general servant
- Danish: faktotum
References
Extensive Definition
A factotum is a general servant or a person having many
diverse activities or responsibilities. The word derives from the
Latin command (imperative construction) fac totum ("do/make
everything").
Factotum can also refer to:
- Factotum (novel), a 1975 novel by Charles Bukowski
- Factotum (film), a 2005 film adaptation of the novel
- factotum (software), a virtual file system
factotum in German: Faktotum
factotum in Italian:
Factotum