Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Bottleholder \Bot"tle*hold`er\, n.
   1. One who attends a pugilist in a prize fight; -- so called
      from the bottle of water of which he has charge.

   2. One who assists or supports another in a contest; an
      abettor; a backer. [Colloq.]

            Lord Palmerston considered himself the bottleholder
            of oppressed states.                  --The London
                                                  Times.