menial

CEFRC1

/ˈmiːni.əl/

adjective · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Relating to basic work that needs little skill and is often unpleasant.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Servile; low; mean.

Examples

  • Tom can only find menial work in this economy.

  • The job was boring and menial.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Of or relating to work normally performed by a servant.

  2. Of or relating to unskilled work.

noun

Extra meaning

  1. A servant, especially a domestic servant.

More examples

In context

  • a menial wretch

  • She was not proposing to go out again, so he got her slippers and took off her boots. It delighted him to perform menial offices.

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

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The new intern was assigned blank tasks such as filing papers and cleaning offices.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Middle English meyneal, from Anglo-Norman mesnal, from maisnee (“household”), from Vulgar Latin *mānsiōnāta, from Latin mānsiō (“house”).