housemother en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /haʊsˈmʌðə(ɹ)/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /hʌʊsˈmʌðɚ/ (General-American)
- [haʊsˈmɐðə(ɹ)] (Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
From house + mother. First use appears c. 1822. See cite below.
Meanings
-
The mother of a family; the female head of household, or of any collection of persons living as a family or in common, as in a primitive community.
At length, the aged house-mother died, or rather slept away into the other world, without pain or sickness, from absolute decay; leaving her solitary partner to mourn her loss, and with an unfeigned longing to join her in the grave.
1822, Purvis and Co. (publisher), The Literary Melange; Or, Weekly Register of Literature and the Arts, page 264:
- A woman in charge of a residence for young people to look after them.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| housemothers | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Relateds
Translations (5)
de Hausmutter (mother of a family; the female head of household) · fr surveillante (woman in charge of a residence for young people) · eo vartistino (woman in charge of a residence for young people) · ja 寮母 (woman in charge of a residence for young people) · de Hausmutter (woman in charge of a residence for young people)