A henchman is a loyal employee , supporter, or aide to some powerful figure engaged in nefarious or criminal enterprises. Henchmen are typically relatively unimportant in the organisation: minions whose value lies primarily in their unquestioning loyalty to their leader. The term henchman is often used derisively, or even comically, to refer to individuals of low status who lack any moral compass of their own.
14-735: The term henchman originally referred to one who attended a horse for his employer, that is, a horse groom . Hence, like constable and marshal , also originally stable staff, henchman became the title of a subordinate official in a royal court or noble household. The first part of the word, which has been in usage since at least the Middle Ages, comes from the Old English hengest , meaning "horse", notably stallion , cognates of which also occur in many Germanic languages , such as Old Frisian, Danish hingst , German , Dutch hengst and Afrikaans hings [həŋs]. The word appears in
28-475: A Gentleman in the North of Scotland , together with its erroneous derivation from haunch . The word is, in this sense, synonymous with gillie , the faithful personal follower of a Highland chieftain, the man who stands at his master's haunch, ready for any emergency. The modern sense of "obedient or unscrupulous follower" is first recorded 1839, probably based on a misunderstanding of the word as used by Scott, and
42-565: A few horses. The word appeared in English as grome c.1225, meaning "boy child, boy , youth ". Its origin is unknown; it has no known cognates in other Germanic languages (e.g. Dutch and German use compound terms, such as Stal(l)knecht 'stable servant', or equivalents of synonyms mentioned below). Perhaps, it stems from an Old English root groma , related to growan "grow" or from Old French grommet "servant" (compare Medieval English gromet for "ship's boy", recorded since 1229). The word
56-407: Is expected to be 'on call' during specified hours in case any member of the employer's family wishes to ride. Grooms whose employers are involved in horse sports or horse racing are often required to travel with their employers to provide support services during competitions. The services required vary with the type of competition and range from simply ensuring that the horse is ready for the start of
70-445: Is often used to describe an out-and-out adherent or partisan, ready to do anything. The phrase henchman is also used as a pejorative for any sort of political mastermind or to present others as such. Thus it was used for associates of President George W. Bush , e.g., by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez . Likewise, it was also used against associates of the former U.S. President Bill Clinton . Rebekah Brooks has been described as
84-537: The James Bond franchise, who was also paralleled by "Random Task" in the Austin Powers parody film. In animation, Starscream is generally depicted as the second-in-command to the main antagonist Megatron , while more literal depictions of a henchman can be seen in the animated series The Venture Bros. This includes the secondary characters Henchman 21 and 24, among other characters seen in service to
98-470: The carriage . Stablehand is a more old-fashioned term; the variation stableman usually applies to an experienced adult, the lowest rank stableboy (corresponding to the first origin of groom) rather to a minor and/or trainee. The historical synonym [h]ostler has meanwhile developed (in the United States) a new meaning of "rail employee". Large establishments may employ several grooms under
112-527: The royal henchmen , known also as the children of honour. The word became obsolete for grooms in English from the middle of the 17th century, but was retained in Scots as "personal attendant of a Highland chief". It was revived in English by way of the novelist Sir Walter Scott , who took the word and its derivation, according to the New English Dictionary , from Edward Burt 's Letters from
126-435: The competition to warming the horse up beforehand. In competition, the term may have a distinct meaning. At a horse show , grooms outside of the ring perform standard grooming tasks, but if utilized inside the show ring are generally defined as an individual called in to assist an exhibitor with a horse while in competition. In combined driving the groom is the passenger and at speed is required to shift his weight to balance
140-474: The henchwoman of Rupert Murdoch . Members of the SS , or any of Adolf Hitler 's staff, are often called "Hitler's Henchmen", a phrase used as the title of a book by Guido Knopp and a television documentary. Henchman have been depicted in various capacities across genres of fiction, whether as low-level functionaries or capable lieutenants of major characters. Notable examples include henchmen such as Oddjob from
154-542: The management of the head groom or stablemaster . In many cases the head groom has complete responsibility for the horses including devising training schedules, choosing feeds for optimum nutrition and ensuring the horses are shod, wormed, inoculated and provided with timely veterinary care. Several other words originally denoting other (often much higher) titles, notably Constable , Equerry and Marshal , have developed into terms for those working with horses. In African or Asian contexts, English-speakers sometimes use
SECTION 10
#1732782524712168-485: The name of Hengest , the Saxon chieftain, and still survives in English in place-names and other names beginning with Hingst- or Hinx- . It was often rendered as Henxman in medieval English. Young henchmen, in fact pages of honour or squires , rode or walked at the side of their master in processions and the like, and appear in the English royal household from the 14th century until Tudor Queen Elizabeth I abolished
182-422: The supervillians in the series. Horse groom A groom or stable boy ( stable hand , stable lad ) is a person who is responsible for some or all aspects of the management of horses and/or the care of the stables themselves. The term most often refers to a person who is the employee of a stable owner, but an owner of a horse may perform the duties of a groom, particularly if the owner only possesses
196-785: Was originally rather grander in status, as in bridegroom and the socially-elevated offices in the English Royal Household of: The meaning "man servant who attends to horses" is from 1667 although women and girls are often grooms. The verb is first attested in 1809; the transferred sense of "to tidy (oneself) up" is from 1843; and the figurative sense of "to prepare a candidate" is from 1887, originally in U.S. politics. Grooms may be employed in private residences or in professional horse training facilities such as stables , agistment properties and riding academies . The groom(s) usually clean stables (mucking-out), feed, exercise and groom horses. A groom in private service
#711288