What Does a Butler Do?

I know, I know, he butles. Seriously, though it should have been obvious, I had never given any thought to the origin of the term butler. It turns out that it derives from the Old French word bouteillier, which is a form of the word bouteille, meaning bottle. One of the butler's chief duties is to be the servant responsible for the storage and service of wine and spirits. Given that in the olden days (maybe the 1970s, right, Emmet?) wine and spirits were purchased in cask or crocks unsuitable for the table, this involved transferring the wine or liquor into clear glass decanters for service. So, really, the answer to the question is that a butler bottles.