The word "Lackey" can mean either a footman or an obsequious person i.e. A servile or slavish person. Specifically a lackey is used to refer to a male servant but it is also a word used in reference to a person who is trying to gain another ones favour by pleasing them and gaining some sort of personal advantage. Synonyms of the word include flunky, flunkey, toady, crawler and sycophant. The word lackey comes from the French word "laquais" and is derived from the old French. To the French it meant a footman, foot soldier or a servant. In its original sense it referred only to a uniformed manservant. Lackey is also a word found in Biology as the name of the Lackey moth and the Lackey caterpillar that it produces.
