dame-school

[ deym-skool ]

/ ˈdeɪmˌskul /

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noun (formerly)

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

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“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

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Origin of dame-school

First recorded in 1810–20

Words nearby dame-school

Damastes, Damasus I, Damasus II, d'Amboise, dame, dame-school, dame's rocket, dame's violet, damfool, Damia, damiana

How to use dame-school in a sentence

Although Huckabee's condescending tone - like that of an elementary school history teacher - makes it difficult to take seriously.
Huckabee 2016: Bend Over and Take It Like a Prisoner!|Olivia Nuzzi|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
A passing off-duty school safety officer named Fred Lucas said that he had been told the man was a drug dealer.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown|Michael Daly|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And then I did teachers all throughout elementary school and junior high for my friends.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Author J.K. Rowling says all religions are present at her beloved wizard school—except Wiccans.
Harry Potter and the Torah of Terror|Candida Moss, Joel Baden|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST

One was a Quaker school, whose name he can no longer recall, in upstate New York.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
All my musical studies till now have been a mere going to school, a preparation for him.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
I ask for half a dozen projectors or so in every school, and for a well-stocked storehouse of films.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
He was the most distinguished representative of the English school of composition, and was knighted in 1842.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
Y was a Youth, that did not love school; Z was a Zany, a poor harmless fool.
Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building, Volume I (of 17)|Various
The child who has got languages from its governess, therefore, marks time—that is to say, wastes time in these subjects at school.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

British Dictionary definitions for dame-school

dame school

noun

(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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012