Definition

Noun: * Old servant: An elderly male servant or retainer, especially in the context of pre-modern or feudal Vietnamese society. The term carries a nuance of long service and often implies a degree of familiarity or paternalistic relationship within a household.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Ông ấy đã làm lão bộc cho gia đình này suốt ba mươi năm. (He has been the old servant for this family for thirty years.)
  • Trong câu chuyện, người lão bộc trung thành đã hy sinh để bảo vệ chủ nhân. (In the story, the loyal old servant sacrificed himself to protect his master.)

Advanced Usage / Nuance

• The term lão bộc is now considered archaic and is primarily found in historical contexts, classical literature, or folktales. It reflects a social structure with clear master-servant hierarchies.
• It can sometimes be used self-deprecatingly or humbly by an older person to refer to themselves in service to a cause, organization, or even a younger person they respect, implying devoted and long-standing service.
  • Tôi chỉ là một lão bộc của công ty mà thôi. (I am merely an old retainer of the company.)

Variants and Related Words

• Đầy tớ (noun): Servant, domestic worker. This is a more general and neutral term.
• Gia nhân (noun) (archaic): Retainer, household servant.
• Người giúp việc (noun): Helper, domestic helper; a modern term.

Synonyms

• Người hầu già (noun phrase): Old attendant/servant.
• Gia bộc (noun) (archaic): Servant of the household.

Notes on Different Meanings

• The word lão bộc specifically denotes an elderly male servant. For a female servant, the term would be bà lão hầu or similar constructions.
• It is a compound noun formed from lão (old, elder) and bộc (servant, retainer). It should not be confused with the modern, informal use of lão as a colloquial term for "guy" or "dude."

noun

1. old servant