maidservant

noun

maid·​ser·​vant ˈmād-ˌsər-vənt How to pronounce maidservant (audio)
: a female servant

Examples of maidservant in a Sentence

a large estate that once had many maidservants
Recent Examples on the Web Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s. Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 8 June 2010 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 25 Aug. 2023 Alfonso enlists the sisters’ maidservant, Despina, to aid in the plot. Jeremy Yudkin, BostonGlobe.com, 17 July 2023 On the other hand, in the 17th century a maidservant was able to thwart the unwelcome advances of the diarist Samuel Pepys by grabbing a pin from her pocket and threatening to stab him with it, according to his own account. Amanda Foreman, WSJ, 29 Sep. 2022 Priya, a maidservant working first for and then alongside Malini, comes into her own as a free woman and worker of ancient power. Liz Braswell, WSJ, 29 Sep. 2022 His mother, Jeanne Rabin, a French maidservant, died about six months after his birth. Jenny Uglow, The New York Review of Books, 3 Aug. 2022 Petra, a frisky maidservant coming off of a weekend dalliance, turns to the audience and imagines her possible futures, first married to a miller’s son, then to a businessman, then to the Prince of Wales. Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 27 Nov. 2021 In this version and in the one at the Uffizi, a maidservant, Abra, forcefully holds Holofernes down while Judith confidently hacks away at his neck. Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'maidservant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of maidservant was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near maidservant

Cite this Entry

“Maidservant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maidservant. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

maidservant

noun
maid·​ser·​vant ˈmād-ˌsər-vənt How to pronounce maidservant (audio)
: a female servant

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