handmaid
|hand-maid|
/ˈhændmeɪd/
female personal servant / attendant
Etymology
'handmaid' originates from Old English, specifically the word 'handmægd' (or 'hand-mægden'), where 'hand' meant 'hand' and 'mægd' meant 'maid' or 'maiden'.
'handmægd' (Old English) became Middle English 'handmayde/handmaide' and eventually developed into the modern English word 'handmaid'.
Initially, it meant 'a female servant or maiden attached to a household'; over time it broadened to include archaic/biblical senses and a figurative sense of 'assistant' or 'subordinate'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a female servant or maid, especially a personal attendant to a woman of higher status.
She entered the room followed by her handmaid.
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Noun 2
(Archaic / biblical) A female servant or slave; in some contexts a concubine or maid given in service within a household.
In the story, the handmaid was given to the wife to bear a child.
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Noun 3
figurative: something that serves as an attendant, assistant, or subsidiary to a larger process or thing (often used in the phrase 'handmaid of').
Practical experience has long been regarded as the handmaid of theoretical knowledge.
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Last updated: 2025/08/24 05:18