lady-in-waiting

[ley-dee-in-wey-ting]

noun

plural

ladies-in-waiting 

1. a lady who is in attendance upon a queen or princess.

2. Facetious.,  a woman who is pregnant.

   flattering fashions for the lady-in-waiting.

lady-in-waiting

noun

1. a lady of a royal household who attends a queen or princess

Word History and Origins

Origin of lady-in-waiting¹

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

And the Princess’s new lady-in-waiting, Lady Clementine Cumberbatch, didn’t know where anything was.

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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.

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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.

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The locals assume Elinor had been a lady-in-waiting, but she paid for this honor with her blood and courage during both world wars.

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So, when Lady Susan Hussey, the late Queen Elizabeth II’s lady-in-waiting, asked a Black Englishwoman where she really came from, the query surely would cause discomfort, and it did.

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