noun
serving a master; employee
Dated term for a person who serves a master or is employed by someone, often in a domestic or feudal context. Not used in modern employment contexts.
彼は若い頃、商家の主持ちとして働いていた。
In his youth, he worked as a servant for a merchant family.
Abbreviated spelling; less common than 主持ち.
奉公人 is a more common historical term for a live-in servant or apprentice, while 主持ち specifically emphasizes serving a particular master.
使用人 is a general term for an employee or servant, still used in modern Japanese, whereas 主持ち is dated and carries a stronger sense of personal loyalty to a master.
Compound of 主 (shu, 'master') and 持ち (mochi, 'holding' or 'having'), literally 'one who has a master'. The reading しゅうもち reflects a common euphonic change.