Rotary Club
Preserved but no longer current.
A movement among business men which takes for its motto "Service not Self." The idea originated with Paul Harris, a Chicago lawyer, in 1905. In 1911 it took root in Britain and there are now clubs in all the large towns. Membership m each club is re- stricted to one member each of any trade, call- ing, or profession; lectures are delivered by experts at the weekly meetings of the clubs.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Rotary Club” mean?
A movement among business men which takes for its motto "Service not Self." The idea originated with Paul Harris, a Chicago lawyer, in 1905. In 1911 it took root in Britain and there are now clubs in all the large towns. Membership m each club is re- stricted to one member each of any trade, call- ing, or profession; lectures are delivered by experts at the weekly meetings of the clubs.
Is “Rotary Club” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.