handmaid
Americannoun
-
something that is necessarily subservient or subordinate to another.
Ceremony is but the handmaid of worship.
-
a female servant or attendant.
Etymology
Origin of handmaid
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.
But the season's seventh episode was the first time the program portrayed a handmaid dying in childbirth.
From Salon • Jan. 23, 2023
The Washington Post also was first to report that Barrett was listed as a handmaid, or female leader, in a 2010 directory.
From The Guardian • Oct. 14, 2020
Until recently, the group used the term “handmaids” to refer to female leaders, inspired by a biblical reference to Mary, the mother of Jesus, as “the handmaid of the Lord.”
From New York Times • Oct. 8, 2020
The reference comes from the New Testament’s Book of Luke, in which Mary describes herself to the angel Gabriel as “the handmaid of the Lord.”
From Washington Times • Sep. 26, 2020
When she emerged from the lake, shivering and dripping, her handmaid Doreah hurried to her with a robe of painted sandsilk, but Khal Drogo waved her away.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
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.
