handmaid

American  

[hand-meyd] / ˈhændˌmeɪd /

Also handmaiden

noun

1. something that is necessarily subservient or subordinate to another.

   Ceremony is but the handmaid of worship.

2. a female servant or attendant.

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Etymology

Origin of handmaid

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; hand, maid

Explanation

Handmaid is an old fashioned word for a housekeeper or servant. Wealthy people living in grand houses once employed handmaids to clean for and serve them. You're most likely to come across the word handmaid in a book these days, since in-house "help" is more likely to be called a "cleaner," "housekeeper," or, rarely, a "maid." Years ago, handmaids were employed to work closely with their employers, sometimes as "ladies-in-waiting," assistants to queens and other royals. The term comes from maid, "young woman," and the "close-at-hand" sense of hand.

Example Sentences

But the season's seventh episode was the first time the program portrayed a handmaid dying in childbirth.

From Salon • Jan. 23, 2023

And this is exactly the problem the handmaid comparison ignores.

From Slate • Oct. 23, 2020

Until recently, the group used the term “handmaids” to refer to female leaders, inspired by a biblical reference to Mary, the mother of Jesus, as “the handmaid of the Lord.”

From New York Times • Oct. 8, 2020

The pair met in the queue, and are delicately embroidering “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum”, the Latin phrase carved into Offred’s closet by a previous handmaid in her household: “Don’t let the bastards grind you down.”

From The Guardian • Sep. 9, 2019

When Doreah looked longingly at a fertility charm at a magician's booth, Dany took that too and gave it to the handmaid, thinking that now she should find something for Irri and Jhiqui as well.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin