wench

English

Etymology

Middle English wenche, short for wenchel child, from Old English wencel; akin to Old High German wankōn (“to totter”)

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɛntʃ

Noun

wench (plural wenches)

1. (archaic) A young woman, especially a servant.
   • W. Black

     He was received by the daughter of the house, a pretty, buxom, blue-eyed little wench.

2. (archaic) A promiscuous woman.
   • Spectator

     It is not a digression to talk of bawds in a discourse upon wenches.

3. (US, dated) A black woman; a negress.

Translations

a young woman

• Breton: merc'h (br) f
• Catalan: mossa f
• Dutch: meid (nl) f
• French: jeune fille (fr) f, fille (fr) f
• German: Magd (de) f, Mädchen (de) n, (regional) Mädel (de) n
• Hindi: औरत (hi) f (aurat) (neutral)
• Ido: damzelo (io)
• Irish: cailín (ga) m
• Italian: ragazza (it) f

• Macedonian: мома f (móma), измеќарка f (izméḱarka) (servant)
• Norwegian: jente (no) f, tøs (no) m, f
• Polish: dziewka (pl) f
• Portuguese: moça (pt) f
• Russian: девка (ru) f (dévka), девица (ru) f (devíca), девушка (ru) f (dévuška)
• Scottish Gaelic: caile f
• Spanish: moza (es) f
• Swedish: jänta (sv) f, piga (sv) c
• Welsh: merch (cy) f

a promiscuous woman

• Hindi: औरत (hi) f (aurat)
• Norwegian: ludder (no) n, tøs (no) m, f
• Polish: dziwka (pl) f

• Russian: девка (ru) f (devka), проститутка (ru) f (prostitutka)
• Swedish: slyna (sv) c, slampa (sv) c

Verb

wench (third-person singular simple present wenches, present participle wenching, simple past and past participle wenched)

1. (intransitive) To frequent prostitutes; to womanize.

Translations

To frequent prostitutes

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 嫖妓 (zh) (piáojì)

• German: huren
• Russian: таскаться (ru) (taskatʹsja) по (ru) (po) бабам (ru) f (babam)