spinster

[ spin-ster ]
/ ˈspɪn stər /

noun

Disparaging and Offensive. a woman still unmarried beyond the usual age of marrying.
Chiefly Law. a woman who has never married.
a woman whose occupation is spinning.

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Origin of spinster

1325–75; Middle English spinnestere a woman who spins. See spin, -ster

usage note for spinster

The meaning “a woman beyond the usual marriageable age” is used with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting. It implies negative qualities such as being fussy or undesirable. See also old maid.

OTHER WORDS FROM spinster

spin·ster·hood, nounspin·ster·ish, adjectivespin·ster·ish·ly, adverbspin·ster·like, adjective

Words nearby spinster

spinous process, spinoza, spinoza, benedict, spinozism, spinproof, spinster, spinthariscope, spinto, spinule, spiny, spiny anteater
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for spinsterhood

British Dictionary definitions for spinsterhood

spinster
/ (ˈspɪnstə) /

noun

an unmarried woman regarded as being beyond the age of marriage
law (in legal documents) a woman who has never marriedCompare feme sole
(formerly) a woman who spins thread for her living

Derived forms of spinster

spinsterhood, nounspinsterish, adjective

Word Origin for spinster

C14 (in the sense: a person, esp a woman, whose occupation is spinning; C17: a woman still unmarried): from spin + -ster
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