spinster

English

Etymology

From Middle English spynnester (“woman who spins fibre”); equivalent to spin +‎ -ster. The semantic development is from a historical notion of unmarried women spinning thread for a living.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspɪnstə/
• IPA^(key): /ˈspɪnstɚ/

Noun

spinster (plural spinsters)

1. (sometimes derogatory) A woman who has never been married, especially one past the typical marrying age according to social traditions.

   Synonym: old maid

   • Coke

     If a gentlewoman be termed a spinster, she may abate the writ.

2. One who spins (puts a spin on) a political media story so as to give something a favorable or advantageous appearance; a spin doctor, spin merchant or spin master.
3. (obsolete) Someone whose occupation was spinning thread.
   • ~1601, William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, act II, scene IV:

     The spinsters and the knitters in the sun.

4. (obsolete) A woman of evil life and character; so called from being forced to spin in a house of correction.
5. (rare) A spider; an insect (such as a silkworm) which spins thread.

Translations

unmarried woman

• Afrikaans: oujongnooi
• Bashkir: ҡарт ҡыҙ (qart qıź)
• Basque: neskazahar (eu)
• Belarusian: ста́рая дзе́ва f (stáraja dzjéva)
• Bulgarian: ста́ра мо́ма f (stára móma)
• Catalan: conca (ca) f
• Chechen: ойна (ojna)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 老處女／老处女 (zh), 老处女 (zh) (laǒchǔnǚ), 剩女 (zh) (shèngnǚ)

• Czech: stará panna f
• Dutch: oude vrijster f, ongehuwde vrouw f
• Estonian: vanatüdruk
• Finnish: vanhapiika (fi)
• French: vieille fille (fr) f
• German: alte Jungfer f, Junggesellin (de) f, unverheiratetes Fräulein n, unverheiratete Frau f
• Greek: γεροντοκόρη (el) f (gerontokóri)
• Hungarian: vénkisasszony (hu)
• Ido: damzelo (io)
• Irish: bean shingil f, puisbhean f (aging spinster)
• Italian: zitella (it) f
• Japanese: オールドミス (ōrudo misu) ("old miss"), 売れ残り (うれのこり, urenokori), ハイミス (haimisu)
• Kazakh: кәріқыз (kärıqyz)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Korean: 올드 미스 (oldeu miseu), 노처녀 (nocheonyeo)
• Macedonian: ста́ра мо́ма f (stára móma)
• Manx: ben sneeuee f
• Maori: wahine takakau, takakau, wahine taumaro, maro kau, marokore, wahine kiritapu
• Polish: stara panna (pl) f
• Portuguese: solteira (pt) f, solteirona (pt) f
• Russian: ста́рая де́ва (ru) f (stáraja déva), векову́ха (ru) f (vekovúxa)
• Scottish Gaelic: seana-mhaighdeann f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: бабадевојка f, бабадјевојка f, усѝдјелица f

  Roman: babadevojka (sh) f, babadjevojka f, usìdjelica (sh) f

• Sicilian: schetta f
• Slovak: stará panna f
• Sotho: lefetwa
• Spanish: solterona (es) f
• Swedish: fröken (sv) c, ogift kvinna, gammal ungmö c
• Tagalog: pindangga (old maid)
• Thai: เทื้อ (tʉ́ʉa), ทึนทึก, สาวทึนทึก, สาวแก่
• Turkish: kalmış (tr)
• Ukrainian: стара́ ді́ва f (stará díva)
• Vietnamese: bà cô già
• Welsh: hen ferch f

one who spins a political media story

• Dutch: spindoctor (nl)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

obsolete: occupation

• Dutch: spinner (nl), spinster (nl)
• Finnish: kehrääjä (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: kézifonónő
• Manx: ben sneeuee f

See also

• bachelor
• bachelorette
• widow
• divorcee

Further reading

• spinster on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Prentiss

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Dutch

Etymology

From spinnen (“to spin”) +‎ -ster

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

spinster f (plural spinsters, diminutive spinstertje n)

1. a female spinner