handmaid

or hand·maid·en

[hand-meyd or hand-meyd-n]

noun

something that is necessarily subservient or subordinate to another: Ceremony is but the handmaid of worship.
a female servant or attendant.

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Origin of handmaid

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at hand, maid

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for handmaid

Contemporary Examples

The Handmaid only finds liberation when she steals out of her room to bed the chauffeur.
The Bizarre Case Against Gay Marriage
Linda Hirshman
January 29, 2010

Historical Examples

Then did Hiordis and the handmaid sail away with Alf to his own land.
Told by the Northmen:
E. M. [Ethel Mary] Wilmot-Buxton
Mrs. Rooke was ready to accept a crumb of possible comfort from her handmaid.
Mary Gray
Katharine Tynan
But you found me giving a lesson in Armenian to this handmaid?
Lavengro
George Borrow
It is a handmaid of literature; it belongs to the household of literature.
Elementary Guide to Literary Criticism
F. V. N. Painter
Blind faith, or belief, is ever the handmaid of superstition.
The New Avatar and The Destiny of the Soul
Jirah D. Buck

Word Origin and History for handmaid

n.

late 14c., from hand (n.) in the sense in close at hand + maid. Cf. Old English handþegn "personal attendant."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper