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maid definition

maid (mād)

noun

    1. Now Chiefly Literary a girl or young unmarried woman
    2. Obsolete a virgin
  2. Now Rare old maid
  3. a girl or woman servant: often in compounds barmaid, housemaid

Etymology: ME maide, contr. < maiden

maid Idioms

the Maid

Joan of Arc

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

maid Synonyms

maid

n.

  1. A female servant

    maidservant, nursemaid, housemaid, domestic, cleaning woman, chambermaid, barmaid, charwoman, bonne (French), au pair (French); see also servant.

  2. A girl

    child, virgin, maiden, kid*; see girl 1, woman 1.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

maid Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • marry: A month ago I tried it on your father's footman, and in a week he'd married a perfectly strange parlor maid.

Adjective modifier

  • merry: Within just 7 years Merry Maids established itself as the market leader in an industry that business strategists have predicted will grow and grow.

Modifies a noun

  • servant: They have a maid servant who goes to the meeting.

Noun used with modifier

  • scullery: Mirror In third place: Sarah the scullery maid.

Possessives

  • outfits: I've tried everything: maid's outfits, leather, sex toys.

Possessives

  • lady: At the time of their marriage in 1912 my mother was the lady's maid at the French Embassy.

Preposition: of

  • honor: He turned his attentions to a maid of honor at court, Anne Boleyn.
maid usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

maid quotes

An original something, fair maid you would win me To writeöbut how shall I begin? For I fear I have nothing original in meö Excepting Original Sin.

-Campbell,Thomas

Yet I would not die a maid, because I had a mother, As I was by one brought forth, I would bring forth another.

-Campion,Thomas

A damsel with a dulcimer In a vision once I saw: It was an Abyssinian maid, And on her dulcimer she played, Singing of Mount Abora.

-Coleridge, Samuel Taylor

maid quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"maid." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/maid>

APA Style

maid. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/maid

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