What Is the Origin of the Word Valet? | The Classroom
Explore state by state cost analysis of US colleges in an interactive article

What Is the Origin of the Word Valet?

What Is the Origin of the Word Valet?
Written By
Judith Willson
Judith Willson
Nov 28, 2013
1 minute read

Valet has several current meanings, with the oldest of these being a male servant who does personal jobs for his employer, such as looking after clothes and in some cases keeping a calendar and looking after small scheduling tasks. The word valet in contemporary English may also refer to anyone who does similar work in a hotel or cruise ship; somebody who parks cars for others. The word also refers to a sort of clothes stand meant to keep business garments straightened and creased.

Origin

The word valet originates in the early modern French language. The word “valet,” in which the "t" is silent as it is pronounced now, stems from a word with the same spelling and similar meaning in French, which was short for “valet de chambre," "chambre" in this sense referring to any type of dressing, sleeping or living room. Going back farther, the word comes from the Latin for “servant” -- vassus. Valet is now sometimes used as a verb -- for example to valet a car -- and occasionally as an adjective, as in valet parking.

Judith Willson

Judith Willson has been writing since 2009, specializing in environmental and scientific topics. She has written content for school websites and worked for a Glasgow newspaper. Willson has a Master of Arts in English from the University of…

Sponsored
The Classroom Logo

The Classroom provides honest, relatable, step-by-step guidance for high schoolers applying to college and first-time undergraduate students.

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2026 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.