menial

From Middle English meinial, from Anglo-Norman mesnal, from maisnee (“household”), from Vulgar Latin mansionata, from Latin mansiōnem, accusative singular of mansiō (“house”).

• enPR: mē'nēəl, IPA^(key): /ˈmiːni.əl/

menial (comparative more menial, superlative most menial)

1. Of or relating to work normally performed by a servant.
2. Of or relating to unskilled work.
   • 2011, Chris Manning, ‎Sudarno Sumarto, Employment, Living Standards and Poverty in Contemporary Indonesia, →ISBN:

     For instance, controlling for the above-mentioned variables, migrants to Tangerang or Samarinda (rather than Medan) have a significantly greater chance of getting a craft (as opposed to menial) job.

3. Servile; low; mean.

   a menial wretch

menial (plural menials)

1. A servant, especially a domestic servant.
   • 1922, Michael Arlen, “Ep./4/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:

     The world was awake to the 2nd of May, but Mayfair is not the world, and even the menials of Mayfair lie long abed.

2. A person who has a subservient nature.

• Elamin