duenna
Americannoun
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(in Spain and Portugal) an older woman serving as escort or chaperon of a young lady.
-
a governess.
noun
Other Word Forms
- duennaship noun
Etymology
Origin of duenna
First recorded in 1660–70; from older Spanish duenna (modern Spanish dueña ), from Latin domina, feminine of dominus “lord, master”
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.
The result is hypnotic rather than instructive and, like TV cookery programmes, it's a cinematic experience resembling lap dancing overseen by a duenna.
From The Guardian
Almost all the pretty and young women were accompanied by an ostensible duenna, and the methods of eluding their vigilance in communication were various.
From Project Gutenberg
Two old duennas, of particularly vinegar aspect, advanced upon the girl, who for a moment clung to my friend's arm.
From Project Gutenberg
They thought so ill of her, she had so misbehaved herself, that a duenna was not enough; a clergyman must be sent to lecture her.
From Project Gutenberg
They were passing a few days in a scene of deep seclusion, there uncared for by tutor or duenna, and with no bar of routine to check the pranks of their gay, childish fancies.
From Project Gutenberg
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.
