commissionaire
UK /kəˌmɪʃəˈnɛː/ · US /kəˌmɪʃəˈnɛɹ/ noun
Forms commissionaires commissionnaire
- noun One entrusted with a (small) commission, such as an errand; especially, an attendant or subordinate employee in a public office, hotel, etc.
- noun (UK) A uniformed doorman.
- noun (law) An undisclosed agent under European civil law.
Etymology
Borrowed from French commissionaire, from Latin commissio. Doublet of commissioner.
Webster’s 1913
- noun One intrusted with a commission, now only a small commission, as an errand; esp., an attendant or subordinate employee in a public office, hotel, or the like. The commissionaire familiar to European travelers performs miscellaneous services as a light porter, messenger, solicitor for hotels, etc.
- noun One of a corps of pensioned soldiers, as in London, employed as doorkeepers, messengers, etc.
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “commissionaire”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details