housemaid

Everyday

A woman or girl servant who cleaned and tidied a house, made beds and lit fires, in the past. tree →

In the lessons

In Victorian and Edwardian times, many young women worked as housemaids in big houses, working long hours for low pay. In Alice in Wonderland, the White Rabbit mistakes Alice for his housemaid, Mary Ann, and sends her to fetch his gloves and fan; she then grows huge inside his house. In history lessons the word shows life «below stairs».

Examples

• The White Rabbit thought Alice was his housemaid. tree →
• The housemaid got up at five to light the fires. tree →
• Mary Ann, the Rabbit's housemaid, was nowhere to be seen. tree →
• Housemaids had very little free time. tree →
• The housemaid polished the silver every Friday. tree →
• In the big house there were three housemaids and a cook. tree →
• The girl returned with him and managed to get a place as housemaid in the palace. tree →

Note

Countable. A job of the past; today we say cleaner or housekeeper. Similar: maid, servant, maidservant.