Menial

Menial

Adjective / Noun · /ˈmiː.ni.əl/

Definition

(Adjective) of low social status and requiring little skill; relating to work that is considered beneath one's dignity; degrading or servile; (Noun, archaic) a domestic servant; a person who does menial work.

Origin

From Anglo-French meignial (of the household, domestic), from Old French mesnie (household, retinue), from Medieval Latin mansionata (household), from Latin mansio (dwelling, house), from manere (to remain, to stay). The same manere root gives mansion, manor, remain, and permanent. The word originally simply meant belonging to the household — a domestic servant — without the pejorative connotation of degrading work that the modern adjective carries.