matron
[mey-truh n]
- a married woman, especially one who is mature and staid or dignified and has an established social position.
- a woman who has charge of the domestic affairs of a hospital, prison, or other institution.
- a woman serving as a guard, warden, or attendant for women or girls, as in a prison.
Show More
Origin of matron
1350–1400; Middle English matrone < Latin mātrōna a married woman, wife, derivative of māter mother
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for matron
Contemporary Examples
Ted Lindsay, Reggie Sinclair, and Marty Pavelich of the Red Wings, were ushers, and Ted's wife, Pat, was matron of honor.
He asked why it was that Saldanha "was placed in a position in a matron office to be receiving calls from outside agencies".
Historical Examples
That matron, like most Grecian women, was ignorant of her own written language.
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
Never ought so worthy, so valuable a matron to be lost to the world.
Gomez AriasJoaqun Telesforo de Trueba y Coso
She reported to the matron that Mary was not neat and quarrelled all the time.
Chit-Chat; Nirvana; The SearchlightMathew Joseph Holt
And the matron—not Miss Coffin, but the other one—called me 'Maggie.'
Thankful's InheritanceJoseph C. Lincoln
Then Sister Allworthy whispered to the matron, who said, "Bring her in."
The ChristianHall Caine
matron
- a married woman regarded as staid or dignified, esp a middle-aged woman with children
- a woman in charge of the domestic or medical arrangements in an institution, such as a boarding school
- US a wardress in a prison
- British the former name for the administrative head of the nursing staff in a hospitalOfficial name: nursing officer
Show More
Word Origin
C14: via Old French from Latin mātrōna, from māter mother
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for matron
n.
late 14c., "married woman" (usually one of rank), from Old French matrone "married woman; elderly lady; patroness; midwife," and directly from Latin matrona "married woman, wife, matron," from mater (genitive matris) "mother" (see mother (n.1)). Sense of "female manager of a school, hospital, etc." first recorded 1550s.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper