maid
noun (a maid, maids)
Everyday
- A maid is a woman whose job is to clean and do housework in a hotel or someone's house. tree →
- (old use) A maid is a girl or young unmarried woman: «a fair maid». tree →
- A bridesmaid or maid of honour is a girl or woman who helps the bride at a wedding. tree →
- An old maid is an older woman who has never married, a term that is now seen as old-fashioned and sometimes unkind. tree →
In the lessons
In stories and history lessons, rich families had maids and servants; in fairy tales a «maid» is a young woman. In hotels today, room cleaners are sometimes called maids, though «housekeeper» is more polite. Phrases: «maid of honour», «housemaid», «old maid» (old-fashioned, unkind), «Maid Marian» (from Robin Hood).
Examples
- The hotel maid cleaned our room every morning. tree →
- In the old house, a maid lit the fires at dawn. tree →
- The milk maid carried two buckets on a pole. tree →
- My sister will be the maid of honour at the wedding. tree →
- Maid Marian was Robin Hood's friend. tree →
- The story tells of a poor maid who married a prince. tree →
- Long ago, many girls went into service as maids. tree →
- What is the old maid thinking of? tree →
Note
Countable: maids. Homophone: «made» (past of make) sounds the same. «Old maid» is old-fashioned and unkind; also a card game. Today «cleaner» or «housekeeper» is the more respectful job title.
In Jewish tradition
It means a female servant, as in "maid-servant", often belonging to a household.
Interpretation. The Torah has laws that protect servants, such as limits on how a daughter sold as a servant may be treated and rest on the Sabbath for all in the house.
Examples
- And the man increased exceedingly, and had large flocks, and maid-servants and men-servants, and camels and asses. (Torah GEN.30.43, JPS 1917) tree →
- And Abraham prayed unto God; and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maid-servants; and they bore children. (Torah GEN.20.17, JPS 1917) tree →
- And if a man sell his daughter to be a maid-servant, she shall not go out as the men-servants do. (Torah EXO.21.7, JPS 1917) tree →
- Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? (Prophets JER.2.32, JPS 1917) tree →
- Corn shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the maids. (Prophets ZEC.9.17, JPS 1917) tree →
- I made a covenant with mine eyes; how then should I look upon a maid? (Writings JOB.31.1, JPS 1917) tree →
Note
Countable: maids. Homophone: «made» (past of make) sounds the same. «Old maid» is old-fashioned and unkind; also a card game. Today «cleaner» or «housekeeper» is the more respectful job title.
Early Modern English
Meaning
A young woman, or a female servant. tree →
Then and now
Today a maid is usually a female servant, such as a hotel cleaner. In these texts "maid" can mean a young woman or a female servant, and "maid-servant" means a female servant, which is an old use.
Examples
- And the man increased exceedingly, and had large flocks, and maid-servants and men-servants, and camels and asses. (Torah GEN.30.43, JPS 1917) tree →
- What is the old maid thinking of? (Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen) tree →
- And Abraham prayed unto God; and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maid-servants; and they bore children. (Torah GEN.20.17, JPS 1917) tree →
Note
Today: maidservant; young woman.
On Mova
- Trees and pragmatics of «maid» in the school dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- «maid» in the school dictionary on Mova free.
- Trees and pragmatics of «maid» in the Judaism dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- «maid» in the Judaism dictionary on Mova free.
- Trees and pragmatics of «maid» in the Early Modern English dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- «maid» in the Early Modern English dictionary on Mova free.
This page in Markdown → https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/maid/