matron
English
Etymology
From Middle English matrone, from Old French matrone, from Latin mātrōna (“married woman”), from māter (“mother”).
Pronunciation
Noun
matron (plural matrons)
- A mature or elderly woman.
- (Can we date this quote by Thomas Fuller and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
- grave from her cradle, insomuch that she was a matron before she was a mother
- (Can we date this quote by Thomas Fuller and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
- A wife or a widow, especially, one who has borne children.
- A woman of staid or motherly manners.
- c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
- In my voluptuousness
your wives, your daughters, your matrons, and your maids could not fill up
The cistern of my lust
- Template:RQ:Chmbrs YngrSt
- “A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; and she looked it, always trim and trig and smooth of surface like a converted yacht cleared for action. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, […].
- A housekeeper, especially, a woman who manages the domestic economy of a public institution.
- A senior female nurse in an establishment, especially a hospital or school.
- the matron of a school or hospital
- (US) A female prison officer.
Derived terms
Translations
mature woman
housekeeper
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References
“matron”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Anagrams
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
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- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
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- Rhymes:English/eɪtɹən
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