Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

majordomo

/ˌmeɪ.d͡ʒɚˈdoʊ.moʊ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.84 in modern English

Syllables: ma-jor-do-mo
IPA: /ˌmeɪ.d͡ʒɚˈdoʊ.moʊ/

21

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

4

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The head servant or official in a royal Spanish or Italian household; later, any head servant in a wealthy household in a foreign country; a leading servant or butler.

noun

A manager of a hacienda, ranch or estate.

American usage

noun

Any overseer, organizer, person in command.

American usage

Example Sentences

"Pancho, the major-domo, came up to say that Colonel Morales was waiting below. Appleby bade him bring out cigars and wine, and rose from his seat when Morales came in."
"In return for ruling over the king's palace, serving as the monarch's alter ego in the domestic sphere, and bearing the burden of accountability, the majordomo was compensated amply."
"She called upon a Missouri cousin named Edward Hardy Clark, who became the indispensable majordomo of the Hearst estate."
"The United Nation's climate majordomo -- tasked with herding 192 nations toward a do-or-die deal by year's end -- does not have the power to impose an agreement on how to curb greenhouse gases and cope with its consequences."

Etymology

From Italian maggiordomo and Spanish mayordomo, from Late Latin maior domūs (“steward”), from Latin maior (“main, principal”) + genitive singular of domus (“household”).

Origin

Source language: Italian

Word Breakdown

Root: *dem-, maggiordomo, mayordomo, maior domūs, maior

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌmeɪ.d͡ʒɚˈdoʊ.moʊ/
British English: /ˌmeɪ.d͡ʒəˈdəʊ.məʊ/

Usage

American usage

Inflected Forms

majordomos (plural) major domo (alternative) major-domo (alternative)

Synonyms

seneschal

Rhymes With

homo cuomo como romo sumitomo perdomo bellomo palomo crisostomo shomo bencomo buonomo

Questions

How do you pronounce majordomo?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌmeɪ.d͡ʒɚˈdoʊ.moʊ/.
What does majordomo mean?: The head servant or official in a royal Spanish or Italian household; later, any head servant in a wealthy household in a foreign country; a leading servant or butler.
Where does majordomo come from?: It is traced to Italian.

How to pronounce majordomo

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Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌmeɪ.d͡ʒɚˈdoʊ.moʊ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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