governess

American  

[guhv-er-nis] / ˈgʌv ər nɪs /

noun

governesses plural

1. a woman who is employed to take charge of a child's upbringing, education, etc.

2. Archaic. a woman who is a ruler or governor.

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governess British  

/ ˈɡʌvənɪs /

noun

1. a woman teacher employed in a private household to teach and train the children

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Gender

See -ess.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subgoverness
  noun
• undergoverness
  noun
• governessy
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• governesses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of governess

1400–50; late Middle English governeress < Old French gouverneresse, feminine of gouverneur governor; see -ess

Explanation

If you had grown up in a very wealthy 19th-century family, instead of going to school you might have been taught by a governess, a teacher who lived in your home. Not many people employ governesses these days — the exceptions are generally members of royal families. So unless you're a prince or princess, you probably attended elementary school rather than having a governess teach you reading, writing, and etiquette at home. In well-off Victorian families, unmarried, well-educated, middle-class women were paid to teach young children the basics. Older boys then moved on to male tutors, while girls usually focused on music and art lessons.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

governess governesses

For families who want full-time dedicated staff, a travel nanny costs $120,000 to $170,000 a year; a private governess, a tutor who blends academics with social development, can today reach $200,000.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

During World War Two, her mother and elderly governess were frequently her only companions.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2025

Winifred Notty arrives at Ensor House as a governess with a secret, which would be enough for many a novel set in Victorian England.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2025

No one would have to become a governess.

From New York Times ● May 28, 2023

Though only sixteen years old, she was an experienced and capable governess, previously employed at Ashton Place, where she had cared for the three wards of Lord Fredrick Ashton.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

Among those who taught her was her father, along with a senior teacher at Eton College, several French and Belgian governesses who taught her French, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, who taught her religion.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 8, 2022

For Americans who associate British TV with crime-solving vicars and emotionally repressed governesses, the fantastically tacky contestants of “Love Island” can be a shock to the system.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2022

By 1853 she was head of a hospital in London, England, for governesses, women who couldn’t afford private care but would not consider going to a public facility.

From Washington Post ● May 4, 2022

Like governesses and housekeepers, nannies are mother substitutes.

From The Guardian ● Nov. 9, 2019

“My dearest, don’t mention governesses; the word makes me nervous. I have suffered a martyrdom from their incompetency and caprice. I thank Heaven I have now done with them!”

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

Related Words

• nanny