'housemaid' originates from Old English elements, specifically the words 'hūs' (from which 'house' derives) and 'mægden' (from which 'maid' derives), where 'hūs' meant 'dwelling' and 'mægden' meant 'young woman'.

'house' developed from Old English 'hūs' through Middle English forms such as 'hous'/'house', and 'maid' changed from Old English 'mægden' to Middle English 'maiden'/'maid'; these elements were combined in Early Modern English to form the compound 'housemaid'.

Initially the elements referred literally to 'dwelling' + 'young woman', but over time the compound evolved to mean 'a female domestic servant working in a household'.