taskmistress

[ task-mis-tris, tahsk- ]

/ ˈtæskˌmɪs trɪs, ˈtɑsk- /

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noun

a woman whose function it is to assign tasks, especially burdensome ones, to others.

a woman who supervises others' work rigorously.

QUIZ

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Question 1 of 7

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Origin of taskmistress

First recorded in 1595–1605; task + mistress

See -ess.

She looked up at Chiswick appealingly but saw only a stern taskmistress.
The Incubator Baby|Ellis Parker Butler
But already some conception that we were under a hard taskmistress was dawning upon us.
Glimpses into the Abyss|Mary Higgs
For one blessed three-quarters of an hour before I finished the taskmistress was away.
Glimpses into the Abyss|Mary Higgs
Aphrodite is a hard taskmistress, and the mysterious bond of beauty which chains Helen to her cannot be broken.
Studies of the Greek Poets (Vol I of 2)|John Addington Symonds

Then our taskmistress appeared just as the floor was finished; she had forgotten the store room, it was locked up and not cleaned.
Glimpses into the Abyss|Mary Higgs