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maid. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
maid, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
maid in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
maid you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
From Middle English mayde, maide, abbreviation of Middle English maiden from Old English mæġden (Old English mǣden). Ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *magaþ, from Proto-Germanic *magaþs (“girl, virgin”).
Pronunciation
Noun
maid (plural maids)
- (dated or poetic) A girl or an unmarried young woman; maiden.
- A female servant or cleaner (short for maidservant).
1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter II, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:She was a fat, round little woman, richly apparelled in velvet and lace, […] ; and the way she laughed, cackling like a hen, the way she talked to the waiters and the maid, […]—all these unexpected phenomena impelled one to hysterical mirth, and made one class her with such immortally ludicrous types as Ally Sloper, the Widow Twankey, or Miss Moucher.
- (archaic) A virgin, now female but originally one of either gender.
c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :You are betrothed both to a maid and man.
Usage notes
Maid, in the sense of a girl or unmarried woman, is often used in the common (species) names of flowering plants.
Synonyms
- (young female person): damsel, maiden
- (female servant): ancilla, handmaiden, lady-in-waiting, maiden, maidservant, servingmaid, servingwoman, womanservant
- (female cleaner): chambermaid (in a hotel), charlady (in a house), charwoman (in a house), cleaning lady (in a house), cleaneress (rare term)
Derived terms
Translations
young female
- Arabic: فَتَاة f (fatāh)
- Armenian: օրիորդ (hy) (ōriord)
- Belarusian: дзе́ва f (dzjéva), дзяві́ца f (dzjavíca), дзяўчы́на f (dzjaŭčýna)
- Breton: merc'h (br) f, plac'h (br) f
- Bulgarian: мома́ (bg) f (momá), дево́йка (bg) f (devójka), деви́ца (bg) f (devíca)
- Catalan: donzella (ca) f
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 少女 (zh) (shàonǚ)
- Cornish: maghteth
- Dutch: meisje (nl) n, meid (nl) f
- Esperanto: fraŭlino (eo)
- Finnish: neito (fi)
- French: demoiselle (fr) f, jeune fille (fr) f
- Galician: rapaza f, rapariga f, garela f, moza f, trondia f, garda (gl) f
- German: Mädchen (de) n
- Greek:
- Ancient: παιδίσκη f (paidískē)
- Hebrew: עַלְמָה (he) f ('almá)
- Hindi: लड़की (hi) f (laṛkī)
- Ido: damzelo (io)
- Indonesian: gadis (id), perawan (id)
- Ingrian: neiti, piika
- Interlingua: senioretta
- Irish: cailín (ga) m, ainnir f, maighdean f
- Italian: signorina (it) f
- Japanese: 少女 (ja) (しょうじょ, shōjo)
- Korean: 소녀(少女) (ko) (sonyeo)
- Latin: puella (la) f
- Macedonian: де́војка f (dévojka), мо́ма f (móma)
- Old Church Slavonic:
- Cyrillic: дѣвица f (děvica), дѣва f (děva)
- Glagolitic: ⰴⱑⰲⰹⱌⰰ f (děvica), ⰴⱑⰲⰰ f (děva)
- Old East Slavic: дѣва f (děva), дѣвица f (děvica), дивица f (divica)
- Polish: panna (pl) f, dziewa (pl) f, dziewczyna (pl) f
- Portuguese: donzela (pt) f, moça (pt) f
- Romanian: fecioară (ro) f, fată (ro) f
- Russian: деви́ца (ru) f (devíca), де́ва (ru) f (déva), де́вушка (ru) f (dévuška)
- Scots: deem
- Scottish Gaelic: ainnir f, maighdeann (gd) f, rìbhinn (gd) f, òigh f, gruagach (gd) f
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: дева f, дјева f, девојка f, дјевојка f, мома f
- Roman: deva (sh) f, djeva (sh) f, devojka (sh) f, djevojka (sh) f, moma (sh)
- Spanish: doncella (es) f, señorita (es) f
- Swahili: wafanyikazi (sw)
- Swedish: mö (sv) c, jungfru (sv) c
- Telugu: కన్య (te) (kanya)
- Thai: สาว (th) (sǎao)
- Ukrainian: ді́ва f (díva), діви́ця f (divýcja), ді́вчина (uk) f (dívčyna), дівчи́на (uk) f (divčýna), ді́вка f (dívka)
- Urdu: لڑکی f (laṛkī)
- Welsh: merch (cy) f, geneth (cy) f, rhiain f, morwyn (cy) f
- Yiddish: מויד f (moyd), מיידל n (meydl)
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female servant or cleaner
- Arabic: خَادِمَة f (ḵādima)
- Armenian: աղախին (hy) (aġaxin)
- Belarusian: пакаёўка f (pakajóŭka), служа́нка f (služánka), прыслу́жніца f (pryslúžnica)
- Bengali: চাকরানী (cakrani), দাসী (daśi)
- Bulgarian: дома́шна прислу́жница f (domášna prislúžnica), прислу́жница f (prislúžnica)
- Catalan: criada (ca) f, minyona (ca) f
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 女僕/女仆 (zh) (nǚpú), 女傭/女佣 (zh) (nǚyòng), 傭婦/佣妇 (zh) (yōngfù), 侍女 (zh) (shìnǚ), 下女 (zh) (xiànǚ)
- Cimbrian: diinaren f
- Cornish: maghteth f
- Czech: pokojská (cs) f, služka (cs) f
- Danish: stuepige c
- Dutch: kamermeisje (nl) n
- Esperanto: ĉambristino, servistino
- Finnish: palvelustyttö (fi), piika (fi), palvelijatar (fi)
- French: bonne (fr) f, bonne à tout faire (fr) f, domestique (fr) f, servante (fr)
- Galician: doncela (gl) f
- German: Stubenmädchen (de) n
- Gothic: 𐌸𐌹𐍅𐌹 f (þiwi)
- Greek: καμαριέρα (el) f (kamariéra)
- Ancient: παιδίσκη f (paidískē)
- Hebrew: חַדְרָנִית f (ḥadranít)
- Hindi: नौकरानी (hi) f (naukrānī), दासी (hi) (dāsī)
- Hungarian: szobalány (hu)
- Indonesian: pembantu (id), babu (id)
- Ingrian: piika, gornicnoi
- Interlingua: serviente
- Irish: cailín (ga) m
- Italian: cameriera (it) f
- Japanese: 女中 (ja) (じょちゅう, jochū), メイド (meido)
- Kabuverdianu: enpregada
- Kapampangan: ipus
- Korean: 하녀(下女) (ko) (hanyeo)
- Latin: ancilla f
- Macedonian: собарка f (sobarka)
- Maori: hāwini
- Marathi: बाई (mr) f (bāī), कामवाली बाई f (kāmvālī bāī)
- Northern Sami: biiga
- Norwegian: stuepike f
- Old English: wiln f
- Polish: pokojówka (pl) f, służąca (pl) f
- Portuguese: empregada (pt) f, servente (pt) f, doméstica (pt)
- Romanian: servitoare (ro) f, fată în casă (ro) f
- Russian: го́рничная (ru) f (górničnaja), служа́нка (ru) f (služánka)
- Scots: deem
- Scottish Gaelic: ban-òglach f
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: слушкиња f, собарица f, служавка f
- Roman: sluškinja (sh) f, sobarica (sh) f, služavka (sh) f
- Slovak: slúžka f, chyžná f
- Slovene: služabnica f, služkinja f, sobarica (sl) f
- Spanish: (inoffensive terms) doméstica (es) f, empleada doméstica (es) f, muchacha de servicio f, asesora del hogar (es) f (Chile, formal usage), asistenta (es) f (Spain), mucama f (Argentina, Uruguay), nana (es) f (Chile), señora de servicio f (Venezuela), criada (es) f, sirvienta (es) f, cachifa (es) f (Venezuela), chacha (es) f (Mexico, Spain), cholera f (El Salvador, Guatemala), chopa (es) f (Dominican Republic), fregona (es) f (Spain), gata (es) f (Mexico), muca (es) f (Guatemala), nacha f (Honduras)
- Swahili: mfanyikazi (sw)
- Swedish: städerska (sv), husjungfru (sv) c
- Telugu: పనిపిల్ల (panipilla)
- Thai: สาวใช้ (sǎao-chái)
- Tocharian B: mañiya
- Tok Pisin: haus meri
- Ukrainian: покої́вка (uk) f (pokojívka), го́рнична f (hórnyčna), служни́ця f (služnýcja)
- Urdu: نوکرانی f (naukrānī)
- Vietnamese: đầy tớ gái, hầu gái (vi)
- Yiddish: מויד f (moyd), דינסטמויד f (dinstmoyd)
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Anagrams
Cebuano
Etymology
From English maid, Middle English mayde, maide, abbreviation of maiden. Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *magaþs (“maid, virgin”).
Noun
maid
- A female servant or cleaner; a maidservant, a housemaid.
Synonyms
Estonian
Etymology 1
Noun
maid
- partitive plural of maa
Etymology 2
Noun
maid
- partitive singular of mai
- nominative plural of mai
Ludian
Etymology
From Proto-Finnic *maito, possibly from Proto-Finno-Permic *majδ̕ɜ. Cognates include Finnish maito.
Noun
maid
- milk
Northern Sami
Pronunciation
- (Kautokeino) IPA(key): /ˈmajt/
Etymology 1
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Adverb
maid
- also, too
Further reading
- Koponen, Eino, Ruppel, Klaas, Aapala, Kirsti, editors (2002–2008), Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages, Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Pronoun
maid
- accusative/genitive plural of mii
Old Irish
Pronunciation
Verb
·maid
- third-person singular present indicative conjunct of maidid
Adjective
maid
- Alternative form of maith (“good”)
Mutation
Old Irish mutation
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Radical |
Lenition |
Nasalization
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maid also mmaid after a proclitic
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maid pronounced with /ṽ(ʲ)-/
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unchanged
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Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.
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Veps
Etymology
From Proto-Finnic *maito, possibly from Proto-Finno-Permic *majδ̕ɜ. Cognates include Finnish maito.
Noun
maid
- milk
Inflection
Derived terms
References
- Zajceva, N. G., Mullonen, M. I. (2007) “молоко”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary], Petrozavodsk: Periodika