old maid

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   dated and often derogatory: an older unmarried woman

   The memoir notes that unmarried women were unfairly dismissed as old maids.

2. 2
   noun

   dated and disapproving: a person stereotyped as excessively prim, fussy, or cautious

   Calling him an old maid reflected the period's stereotype of fussy behavior.

3. 3
   noun

   a card game in which players match pairs and try not to finish with the single unmatched card

   The children played old maid at the kitchen table after supper.

A compound of old + maid, with maid in its historical sense of an unmarried woman. The personal label is now dated and often derogatory. The card game was named for the lone unmatched card and the social stigma once attached to remaining unmarried.

Topics