Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word stewardess. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word stewardess, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say stewardess in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word stewardess you have here. The definition of the word stewardess will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofstewardess, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
A female flight attendant (a member of the crew of an airplane who is responsible for the comfort and safety of its passengers).
A woman who works at housekeeping and passenger service aboard a ship, yacht, or other type of boat that carries passengers.
1888 September, Henry James, “The Patagonia”, in The English Illustrated Magazine, volume 5, page 782:
She usually rang for the stewardess early, but this morning of course there had been no ring. The stewardess had gone in all the same about eight o'clock and found the cabin empty.
1905, The Trained Nurse and Hospital Review - Volume 35, page 296:
Certainly a stewardess who may have fifty or even a hundred passengers to look after cannot give much attention to nursing, even if she knows how.
1997, Violet Jessop, John Maxtone-Graham, Titanic Survivor: The Newly Discovered Memoirs of Violet Violet Jessop who Survived Both the Titanic and Britannic Disasters, page 195:
He regarded the tray with apprehension, then with dismay as the stewardess said: "She's just rung for breakfast in bed, going to stay there all day as she feels a cold coming."
2013, Julie Perry, The Insiders' Guide to Becoming a Yacht Stewardess:
I came into the industry as a chef with restaurant and catering experience but no real understanding of what the whole role of "stewardess" entailed on board.
The occasion – the very first trip of a stewardess on Capitol, eastbound B & O […]
1968, Daily Labor Report, page 4:
Arbitrator John Day Larkin upholds the discharge of a female employee who had a fight with a union stewardess on a company parking lot.
1971, New Zealand. Department of Labour, Awards, Agreements, Orders, and Decisions Made Under the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, the Apprentices Act, the Labour Disputes Investigation Act, and Other Industrial Legislation for the Year 1970, page 3860:
On the transfer of any hostess or stewardess from one permanent base to another, the employer shall pay the expenses properly incurred by the hostess or stewardess for the removal of her dependants, her furniture, and personal effects, such expenses to be mutually agreed upon.
2013, Tanith Lee, A Heroine of the World:
The kitchen stewardess says madam sits there glaring at the paper on the wall.
Usage notes
This term is still commonly used in Singapore and Malaysia, but is now dated and considered sexist language in the United States.