Definition

Noun: 1. A person employed to do a wide variety of tasks, typically of a general or menial nature. A factotum is a servant or assistant whose duties are not specialized but encompass many different kinds of work.

Examples

• Noun:
  • In the small office, he acted as a factotum, handling the mail, answering phones, and making coffee.
  • The estate manager hired a factotum to assist with gardening, basic repairs, and errands.
  • She started as the company's factotum, but her versatility led to a more specialized role.

Advanced Usage

• Literary/Historical Context: The term often carries a slightly old-fashioned or literary connotation, evoking the image of a servant in a large household or a general assistant in a pre-modern office setting.
  • The novelist described the character as the professor's faithful factotum, managing both his library and his daily schedule.

Variants and Related Words

• Jack-of-all-trades (noun, idiomatic): A person who can do many different types of work. This term is more common in modern speech and often has a neutral or slightly positive connotation regarding skill, whereas "factotum" emphasizes employment for general tasks.
• Handyman (noun): A person skilled at various small repair jobs. This is more specific to maintenance and repair work.
• General assistant (noun): A modern, more formal phrase with a similar meaning.

Synonyms

• Man Friday (noun, idiomatic, dated): A loyal and versatile male assistant. (Note: This term is now considered culturally insensitive and is largely obsolete.)
• Gofer (noun, informal): A person who runs errands and does minor tasks ("go for" this, "go for" that).
• Dogsbody (noun, chiefly British, informal): A person who is given boring, menial tasks.

Idioms

• While not an idiom itself, "factotum" can be used in the phrase "a regular factotum" to emphasize someone's role in handling all miscellaneous duties.
  • Since the department is understaffed, I've become a regular factotum around here.

Noun

1. a servant employed to do a variety of jobs