Commissionaire
//kəˌmɪʃəˈnɛː// noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 One entrusted with a (small) commission, such as an errand; especially, an attendant or subordinate employee in a public office, hotel, etc.
- 2 a uniformed doorman wordnet
- 3 A uniformed doorman. British
"When the day came Nick turned up early at the bank and waited under a palm tree in the atrium. People hurried in, nodding to the commissionaire, who still wore a tailcoat and a top hat."
- 4 An undisclosed agent under European civil law.
Example
More examples"When the day came Nick turned up early at the bank and waited under a palm tree in the atrium. People hurried in, nodding to the commissionaire, who still wore a tailcoat and a top hat."
Etymology
Borrowed from French commissionaire, from Latin commissio. Doublet of commissioner.
Related phrases
More for "commissionaire"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.