dame-school

[ deym-skool ]

noun

1. a school in which the rudiments of reading, writing, and arithmetic were taught to neighborhood children by a woman in her own home.

dame school

noun

1. (formerly) a small school, often in a village, usually run by an elderly woman in her own home to teach young children to read and write

Word History and Origins

Origin of dame-school¹

First recorded in 1810–20

Example Sentences

British soldiers in gay uniforms were seen about the roads, and Mistress Kent's dame school did not open as usual.

From Project Gutenberg

Our picture shows us a corner of a dame school where a naughty child is in a fit of temper.

From Project Gutenberg

It was like nothing so much as a dame school, even to the various tutors and governesses ordered her by the Czarina.

From Project Gutenberg

The dame-school, which was about a mile from the village, was a long, low house with a thatched roof.

From Project Gutenberg

The mistress of a dame-school can hear spelling-lessons; and any hedge-schoolmaster can drill boys in the multiplication-table.

From Project Gutenberg