chatelaine
Americannoun
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chatelaines
plural
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the mistress of a castle.
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the mistress of an elegant or fashionable household.
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a hooklike clasp or a chain for suspending keys, trinkets, scissors, a watch, etc., worn at the waist by women.
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a woman's lapel ornament resembling this.
noun
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(esp formerly) the mistress of a castle or fashionable household
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a chain or clasp worn at the waist by women in the 16th to the 19th centuries, with handkerchief, keys, etc, attached
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a decorative pendant worn on the lapel
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of chatelaine
From the French word châtelaine, dating back to 1835–45. See chatelain
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
This while substituting for her mother as the rectory’s chatelaine, with all the submission and drudgery that entails.
From New York Times ● May 3, 2018
The conversation is interrupted momentarily when Lady Carnarvon, the estate's current chatelaine, pops by to fix herself an espresso.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 30, 2015
It seems the Duchess of Northumberland, chatelaine of Alnwick and creator of the Poison Garden, keeps several stuffed dogs up at the castle.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 25, 2015
Deborah, who married a nobleman and became chatelaine of the vast Chatsworth estate in central England, died last week aged 94.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 2, 2014
“Indeed, my lord, this collar and chain do hold me fast,” I said, touching my ruff and the links of the chatelaine at my waist, where my needlework tools were suspended.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
To illustrate Mr. Blahnik’s inspirations, he dressed up Ms. Birley and the Chanel creative consultant Amanda Harlech as Victorian chatelaines and captured them strolling across the fields of a British estate.
From New York Times ● Sep. 13, 2017
"Never!" cried Flossie, swinging in a circle so abruptly that the rattling chatelaines shot out at an angle of forty-five degrees.
From A Star for a Night A Story of Stage Life by Elsie Janis
Hairpins with which the Saxon ladies bound up their tresses, chatelaines with tweezers for removing superfluous hairs, toothpicks, scissors, and small knives, are very frequent, and combs made of bone.
From English Villages by P. H. (Peter Hampson) Ditchfield
Where are those prodigious chatelaines of 1850 which no lady could be without?
From John Leech's Pictures of Life and Character by William Makepeace Thackeray
In a few moments we had forgotten all our troubles in the presence of one of the most charming chatelaines it has been our lot to meet.
From Frenzied Fiction by Stephen Leacock
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
