Allwork
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Work of all kinds; general purpose tasks. uncountable
"A dark and tyrannical count; an aged crone of a house-keeper, the depositart of many a family legend; a garrulous waiting-maid; a gay and light-hearted valet; a villain or two of allwork; and a heroine , fulfilled with all perfections, and subjected to all manner of hazards, from the stock in trade of a romancer or a melo-dramatist ; and if these personages be dressed in the proper costume, and converse in language sufficiently appropriate to their stations and qualities, it is not expected that the audience shall shake their sides at the humour of the dialogue, or weep over its pathos."
- 2 A general-purpose servant; a maid of all work. countable
"Their skills ranged over 36 different trades, from general catgories such as allwork and general servant through to more specific skills such as upholsterer and jeweller."
Example
More examples"A dark and tyrannical count; an aged crone of a house-keeper, the depositart of many a family legend; a garrulous waiting-maid; a gay and light-hearted valet; a villain or two of allwork; and a heroine , fulfilled with all perfections, and subjected to all manner of hazards, from the stock in trade of a romancer or a melo-dramatist ; and if these personages be dressed in the proper costume, and converse in language sufficiently appropriate to their stations and qualities, it is not expected that the audience shall shake their sides at the humour of the dialogue, or weep over its pathos."
Etymology
From all + work.
More for "allwork"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.