commissionaire
noun
- attendant, messenger or subordinate employed in hotels to attend at railway stations, secure customers, take charge of their luggage, etc.
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /kəˌmɪʃəˈnɛː/ / /kəˌmɪʃəˈnɛɹ/ / /kəˌmɪsjəˈnɛɹ/
noun
Etymology: Borrowed from French commissionaire, from Latin commissio. Doublet of commissioner.
- One entrusted with a (small) commission, such as an errand; especially, an attendant or subordinate employee in a public office, hotel, etc.
- A uniformed doorman.
“When the day came Nick turned up early at the bank and waited under a palm tree in the atrium. People hurried in, nodding to the commissionaire, who still wore a tailcoat and a top hat.”
- An undisclosed agent under European civil law.