housemother

American  

[hous-muhth-er] / ˈhaʊsˌmʌð ər /

noun

1. a woman in charge of a residence, especially for children, students, or young women, who acts as hostess, chaperon, and occasionally as housekeeper.

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Other Word Forms

• housemotherly adjective

Etymology

Origin of housemother

First recorded in 1830–40; house + mother ¹

Example Sentences

Before long, a housemother at the school was punishing them for it.

From Washington Post

But she changed her major to chemistry on the advice of her housemother; World War II was creating new opportunities for women in a field that had been a male preserve.

From Seattle Times

Lily was quiet during the entire ride, whereas my mother chatted nervously, giving advice about curfews and the procedure for receiving a gentleman caller and housemothers and vespers on Wednesdays.

From Literature

The actress who played a wise and patient housemother to a brood of teenage girls on the long-running sitcom “The Facts of Life” was 92.

From Washington Times

Sagar Nepali, a sturdy, 11-year-old boy with warm, determined black eyes, wearing a dirt-stained black hooded sweatshirt, is playing with a packet of temporary tattoos given to him and his friends by their housemother.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• dowager
• housekeeper
• matriarch