A person, usually a servant, who does all kinds of work; a general laborer or maid-of-all-work.
Compound of 'all' and 'work,' common in British English from the 17th century onward. It specifically referred to household servants who performed every task without specialization, contrasting with servants who had specific duties.
The 'allwork' was often the lowest-paid servant in a household, doing everyone else's leftover jobs—Victorian novels are full of poor 'allwork' characters who show up in the kitchen, garden, and everywhere else!
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