In English, "valet" as "personal man-servant" is recorded since 1567, though use of the term in the French-speaking English medieval court is older, and the variant form "varlet" is cited from 1456 (OED). Both are French importations of "valet" (the "t" being silent in modern French) or "varlet", Old French variants of "vaslet" "man's servant", originally "squire, young man", assumed to be from Gallo-Romance Vulgar Latin *"vassellittus" "young nobleman, squire, page", diminutive of Medieval Latin "vassallus", from "vassus" "servant", possibly cognate to an Old Celtic root "wasso-" "young man, squire" (source of Welsh "gwas" "youth, servant", Breton "goaz" "servant, vassal, man", Irish "foss" "servant"). See yeoman, possibly derived from "yonge man", a related term.