A now-archaic term for a man-servant or retainer, especially one who served in a household.
Old English 'hemen' or 'hymen', from Germanic roots meaning 'to serve' or 'servant'. Related to household servants and domestic staff in medieval and early modern English.
The word 'hemen' reveals a whole social structure that's mostly disappeared—it shows how specific job titles were once common enough that we had dedicated single words for different types of household workers.
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