English-Thai Dictionary

spinster

N สาวแก่  สาวทึนทึก  หญิง ที่ ไม่เคย แต่งงาน  old maid sao-kea

 

spinster

N หญิง ปั่นฝ้าย  ying-pan-fai

 

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SPINSTER

n.[spin and ster. ] 1. A woman who spins, or whose occupation is to spin. Hence,
2. In law, the common title by which a woman without rank or distinction is designated. If a gentlewoman is termed a spinster, she may abate the writ.

 

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

SPINSTER

Spin "ster, n. Etym: [Spin + -ster. ]

 

1. A woman who spins, or whose occupation is to spin. She spake to spinster to spin it out. Piers Plowman. The spinsters and the knitters in the sun. Shak.

 

2. A man who spins. [Obs. ] Shak.

 

3. (Law )

 

Defn: An unmarried or single woman; -- used in legal proceedings as a title, or addition to the surname. If a gentlewoman be termed a spinster, she may abate the writ. Coke.

 

4. A woman of evil life and character; -- so called from being forced to spin in a house of correction. [Obs. ]

 

New American Oxford Dictionary

spinster

spin ster |ˈspinstər ˈspɪnstər | ▶noun derogatory an unmarried woman, typically an older woman beyond the usual age for marriage. DERIVATIVES spin ster hood |-ˌho͝od |noun, spin ster ish adjective ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘woman who spins ’): from the verb spin + -ster; in early use the term was appended to names of women to denote their occupation. The current sense dates from the early 18th cent. usage: The development of the word spinster is a good example of the way in which a word acquires strong connotations to the extent that it can no longer be used in a neutral sense. From the 17th century, the word was appended to names as the official legal description of an unmarried woman: Elizabeth Harris of Boston, Spinster . This type of use survives today only in some legal and religious contexts. In modern everyday English, however, spinster cannot be used to mean simply ‘unmarried woman ’; as such, it is a derogatory term, referring or alluding to a stereotype of an older woman who is unmarried, childless, prissy, and repressed.

 

Oxford Dictionary

spinster

spin |ster |ˈspɪnstə | ▶noun an unmarried woman, typically an older woman beyond the usual age for marriage. DERIVATIVES spinsterhood noun, spinsterish adjective ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘woman who spins ’): from the verb spin + -ster; in early use the term was appended to names of women to denote their occupation. The current sense dates from the early 18th cent. usage: The development of the word spinster is a good example of the way in which a word acquires strong connotations to the extent that it can no longer be used in a neutral sense. From the 17th century the word was appended to names as the official legal description of an unmarried woman: Elizabeth Harris of London, Spinster . This type of use survives today in some legal and religious contexts. In modern everyday English, however, spinster cannot be used to mean simply ‘unmarried woman ’; it is now always a derogatory term, referring or alluding to a stereotype of an older woman who is unmarried, childless, prissy, and repressed.

 

American Oxford Thesaurus

spinster

spinster noun a story of two delightful spinsters: unmarried woman. ▶adjective the spinster sleuth Jane Marple: unmarried, unwed, unwedded, single, husbandless, maiden, celibate. WORD NOTE spinster An apparently innocent word that would seem to mean "an unmarried woman, " until we compare the spinster to her male counterpart —the bachelor —at which point the word reveals its true colors. A bachelor, we might assume, has chosen to remain unmarried, a state which does not reflect on his attractiveness, and indeed may make him even more appealing. Whereas a spinster has had the misfortune of having been unable to find a man. That must be why one sees —especially on TV —the growing use of the term bachelorette, while, so far, we have yet to use the term spinsterette. There are many apparently gender-neutral words which in fact have gender-specific associations. For example, one rarely sees the verb to scold used in reference to men who harangue us. — FP Conversational, opinionated, and idiomatic, these Word Notes are an opportunity to see a working writer's perspective on a particular word or usage.

 

Sanseido Wisdom Dictionary

spinster

spin ster /spɪ́nstə r /名詞 C ｟やや古 ｠未婚女性 ; (中高年の )独身女性 (｟男女共用 ｠single [unmarried ] person ).～hood /-hʊ̀d /名詞 U (女性の )未婚, 独身 .