Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
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
maid will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
maid , as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
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 .
Synonyms: damsel , 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
In the sense of a girl or unmarried woman, the term is often used in the common (species ) names of flowering plants.
Synonyms
( 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 ) , कन्या (hi) f ( kanyā )
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 (mk) f ( dévojka ) , мо́ма (mk) 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 )
Ottoman Turkish: بكر ( bikr, bikir )
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 )
female servant or cleaner
Arabic: خَادِمَة f ( ḵādima )
Armenian: աղախին (hy) ( aġaxin )
Belarusian: пакаёўка f ( pakajóŭka ) , служа́нка f ( služánka ) , прыслу́жніца f ( pryslúžnica )
Bengali: চাকরানী (bn) ( cakrani ) , দাসী (bn) ( 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 ) , सेविका (hi) f ( sevikā )
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 (ja) ( 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 )
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: katabang , muchacha , mutsatsa
Estonian
Etymology 1
Noun
maid
partitive plural of maa
Etymology 2
Noun
maid
partitive singular of mai
nominative plural of mai
French
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English maid .
Noun
maid f (plural maids )
maid , especially in reference to Japanese fiction or in reference to the French maid outfit
Synonyms: femme de ménage , soubrette
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
Radical
Lenition
Nasalization
maid also mmaid after a proclitic ending in a vowel
maid pronounced with /β̃(ʲ)-/
unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.
Portuguese
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English maid .
Pronunciation
( Brazil ) IPA (key ) : /ˈmej.d͡ʒi/ , /ˈmejd͡ʒ/
( Southern Brazil ) IPA (key ) : /ˈmejd͡ʒ/ , /ˈmej.d͡ʒi/
Noun
maid f (plural maids )
maid , especially in reference to Japanese fiction or in reference to the French maid outfit
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