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maid
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English
Etymology
From Middle English mayde, maide, abbreviation of Middle English maiden from Old English mæġden (Old English mǣden). Ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *magaþ, from Proto-Germanic *magaþs (“girl, virgin”).
Pronunciation
Noun
maid (plural maids)
- (dated or poetic) A girl or an unmarried young woman; maiden.
- A female servant or cleaner (short for maidservant).
- 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter II, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
- She was a fat, round little woman, richly apparelled in velvet and lace, […] ; and the way she laughed, cackling like a hen, the way she talked to the waiters and the maid, […]—all these unexpected phenomena impelled one to hysterical mirth, and made one class her with such immortally ludicrous types as Ally Sloper, the Widow Twankey, or Miss Moucher.
- (archaic) A virgin, now female but originally one of either gender.
- c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
- You are betrothed both to a maid and man.
Usage notes
- In the sense of a girl or unmarried woman, the term is often used in the common (species) names of flowering plants.
- In the sense of a maidservant, the term has also been internationalized to a character design describing a young girl in a maid uniform.
Synonyms
- (female servant): ancilla, handmaiden, lady-in-waiting, maiden, maidservant, servingmaid, servingwoman, womanservant
- (female cleaner): chambermaid (in a hotel), charlady (in a house), charwoman (in a house), cleaning lady (in a house), cleaneress (rare term)
Derived terms
- bang maid
- barmaid
- best maid
- bondmaid
- bridemaid
- bride's maid
- bridesmaid
- chambermaid
- cookmaid
- dairymaid
- doormaid
- dwarfmaid
- elfmaid
- elf-maid
- elle-maid
- evil maid attack
- fairmaid
- fair-maid-of-France
- fancy maid
- French maid
- groomsmaid
- handmaid
- house maid
- housemaid
- house-maid
- kennelmaid
- kennel maid
- kitchenmaid
- lady's maid
- laundrymaid
- maid cafe
- maid café
- maid child
- maid-child
- maidhood
- maidie
- maid-in-waiting
- maidish
- maidkin
- maidless
- maidlike
- maidling
- maidly
- maidmarian
- maid-of-all-work
- maid of honor
- maid of honour
- maid of Kent
- maidservant
- maid-servant
- maid's hair
- maidy
- mermaid
- meter maid
- milkmaid
- nursemaid
- nurserymaid
- Old Maid
- old maid
- old-maidish
- old-maidism
- pantrymaid
- parlormaid
- parlor maid
- parlourmaid
- schoolmaid
- scullery maid
- scullery-maid
- seamaid
- servingmaid
- shield-maid
- shieldmaid
- shopmaid
- submaid
- tablemaid
- undermaid
- waiting maid
- wardsmaid
- washmaid
Translations
young female
|
female servant or cleaner
|
Anagrams
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Balangao
Pronunciation
Adjective
maid
Antonyms
Cebuano
Etymology
From English maid, Middle English mayde, maide, abbreviation of maiden. Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *magaþs (“maid, virgin”).
Noun
maid
Estonian
Etymology 1
Noun
maid
Etymology 2
Noun
maid
French
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English maid.
Noun
maid f (plural maids)
- maid, especially in reference to Japanese fiction or in reference to the French maid outfit
- Synonyms: femme de ménage, soubrette
Ludian
Etymology
From Proto-Finnic *maito, possibly from Proto-Finno-Permic *majδ̕ɜ. Cognates include Finnish maito.
Noun
maid
Northern Sami
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Adverb
maid
Further reading
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Pronoun
maid
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Old Irish
Pronunciation
Verb
·maid
Adjective
maid
- alternative form of maith (“good”)
Mutation
Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.
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Portuguese
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English maid.
Pronunciation
Noun
maid f (plural maids)
- maid, especially in reference to Japanese fiction or in reference to the French maid outfit
Spanish
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English maid.
Noun
maid f (plural maids)
- maid, especially in reference to Japanese fiction or in reference to the French maid outfit
Usage notes
According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.
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Veps
Etymology
From Proto-Finnic *maito, possibly from Proto-Finno-Permic *majδ̕ɜ. Cognates include Finnish maito.
Noun
maid
Inflection
Derived terms
- hapanmaid
- pihtimaid
- rahtmaid
- maidnedalʹ
References
- Zajceva, N. G.; Mullonen, M. I. (2007), “молоко”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary], Petrozavodsk: Periodika
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