taskmistress

[ task-mis-tris, tahsk- ]

noun

1. a woman whose function it is to assign tasks, especially burdensome ones, to others.
2. a woman who supervises others' work rigorously.

Gender Note

See -ess.

Word History and Origins

Origin of taskmistress¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; task + mistress

Example Sentences

She looked up at Chiswick appealingly but saw only a stern taskmistress.

From Project Gutenberg

But already some conception that we were under a hard taskmistress was dawning upon us.

From Project Gutenberg

For one blessed three-quarters of an hour before I finished the taskmistress was away.

From Project Gutenberg

Aphrodite is a hard taskmistress, and the mysterious bond of beauty which chains Helen to her cannot be broken.

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg