Meanings
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1
noun
a low stool on which a seated person rests the feet
She placed a footstool beneath the armchair and stretched out her legs.
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2
noun
a person or thing treated as subordinate or available to be trodden on
The emperor boasted that the conquered province would become his footstool.
Thesaurus
Etymology
From Middle English footstool, a compound of foot + stool. The literal furniture sense is old; the figurative sense draws on the image of something placed under another's feet as a sign of submission.