spinster

Everyday

1. A spinster is a woman who has never married, usually an older one (old-fashioned). tree →
2. (old use) A spinster was once a woman whose job was spinning thread. tree →
3. In old legal papers spinster was the word for an unmarried woman (law, old). tree →

In the lessons

You meet «spinster» in old novels, fairy tales and legal records. Today it can sound unkind, because it was used to mock women who did not marry; people now just say «a single woman» or «unmarried». The male word «bachelor» is still used more freely. Phrases: an old spinster (unkind), spinster aunt.

Examples

• In the old story, the spinster lived alone with her cats. tree →
• Great-aunt Molly was a spinster all her life and loved travelling. tree →
• The marriage record called her «spinster» because she had not been married before. tree →
• Long ago spinsters spun wool into thread. tree →
• Calling someone «an old spinster» is rude. tree →
• The book is about two spinster sisters who run a shop. tree →
• “Oh dear, oh dear,” cried Wendy, “I’m sure I sometimes think that spinsters are to be envied.” tree →

Note

Countable noun. Old-fashioned and sometimes rude; prefer «single woman». The male partner word is «bachelor», but the two words do not carry the same feeling. It comes from «spin» (spinning thread).