usher

An usher is a person who welcomes and shows people where to sit, especially at a church, theatre or when attending a wedding. History The word comes from the Latin ostiarius ("porter", "doorman") through Norman French, and is a cognate of the French huissier. Ushers were servants or courtiers who showed or ushered visitors in and out of meetings in large houses or palaces. In the United Kingdom, a variety of titles for courtiers in the Royal Household include the word usher. In England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, from the early sixteenth century until at least the end of the nineteenth century, the term denoted an assistant to a schoolmaster or head-teacher; an under-master, assistant-master. In such use, however, the term is now rare.