laundress

Everyday

(old-fashioned) A woman whose job is to wash and iron clothes and sheets for other people. tree →

In the lessons

Met in history lessons on Victorian and Edwardian times, when many poor women worked as laundresses or washerwomen. In The Wind in the Willows Toad escapes from prison disguised as a washerwoman, the gaoler's daughter's aunt, and later has to try washing clothes and makes a mess of it.

Examples

• The laundress washed the sheets in a big tub. tree →
• In Victorian times many women worked as laundresses. tree →
• Toad dressed up as a washerwoman to escape. tree →
• The laundress ironed the shirts with a heavy iron. tree →
• The laundress worked long hours for little money. tree →
• The hotel once had its own laundress. tree →
• The laundress felt a little better by this time. tree →

Note

Old-fashioned: today we say «laundry worker». A male laundry worker was a laundryman. Related: laundry, launder. Plural: laundresses.