What does "houseboy" mean?

A young male domestic servant, especially in a British colony in former times.

What is a synonym for "houseboy"?

Common synonyms include: boy, butler, chauffeur, coachman, driver, equerry.

//ˈhaʊsbɔɪ// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A young male domestic servant, especially in a British colony in former times. historical
"House servants are usually either Chinese or Tamil, the former predominating, especially in towns of any size. The domestic staff will in general consist of a houseboy (in large establishments two houseboys), a water carrier (tukang ayer), whose duties include washing dishes and preparing baths, a cook, a gardener, a chauffeur or sais, and perhaps an ayah (if Chinese, amah) or two, according to the size of the family."
2
A non-white adult male domestic servant. derogatory, historical, offensive

"Ziri asked his houseboy where Rima was."

From house + boy (“young male; (historical or offensive) non-white male servant regardless of age”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.