governess
Americannoun
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a woman who is employed to take charge of a child's upbringing, education, etc.
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Archaic. a woman who is a ruler or governor.
noun
Gender
See -ess.
Other Word Forms
- governessy adjective
- subgoverness noun
- undergoverness noun
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.
Vocabulary lists containing governess
Maus I: My Father Bleeds History
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Selected Short Stories of H.G. Wells
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"Uprising" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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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.
When Elizabeth saw the manuscript, she wrote to a friend that “the governess has gone off her head.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026
Fortunes changed in 1894 when he appointed his children's governess, Rita Shell, to be editor.
From BBC • Apr. 15, 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
Follow along as Maria serves as governess for the seven children of the stern Captain, bringing music to their lives in the form of timeless songs like “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” “Do Re Mi” and “Edelweiss.”
From Seattle Times • May 25, 2023
“Quite sure. Be brave and be true, be the best governess you can be, and give the future a chance to rewrite itself accordingly.”
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
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.
