lady-in-waiting
Americannoun
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a lady who is in attendance upon a queen or princess.
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Facetious. a woman who is pregnant.
flattering fashions for the lady-in-waiting.
noun
Etymology
Origin of lady-in-waiting
First recorded in 1860–65
Explanation
The attendant who serves as an assistant to a queen or princess is a lady-in-waiting. Queen Elizabeth of York, the wife of King Henry VII, had an astounding 36 ladies-in-waiting. The third wife of England's King Henry VIII, Jane Seymour, served as lady-in-waiting to his first two wives before becoming Queen herself. Most English ladies-in-waiting have been nobles in the same social class as their employers and were considered companions who helped with day-to-day tasks. In other parts of the world, this role was sometimes filled by a servant or slave. Today, female British royals still have ladies-in-waiting whose job is described as "providing companionship and counsel."
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.
She once gave an expensive watch to a lady-in-waiting who’d been late to an engagement — a not-so-subtle hint to be on time.
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2023
Widely considered the world’s first novel, Genji was composed in the eleventh century by Murasaki Shikibu, a noblewoman and lady-in-waiting in the Heian Court.
From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023
The book, which was written by Murasaki Shikibu, a lady-in-waiting in the emperor’s court, continuously centers female perspectives while ostensibly chronicling the escapades of a male hero.
From New York Times • Apr. 17, 2023
The queen offered Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, “the ear of her most senior lady-in-waiting, Lady Susan Hussey,” Tina Brown wrote in her book “The Palace Papers.”
From Washington Post • Dec. 1, 2022
In the afternoon of her first day in Chicago, Tuesday, June 6, the infanta had slipped out of her hotel incognito, accompanied by her lady-in-waiting and an aide appointed by President Cleveland.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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.
