spinster

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   dated and often disparaging: an unmarried woman, especially one regarded as past the usual age for marriage

   The census described her as a spinster living with two sisters.

2. 2
   noun

   historical: a woman whose occupation was spinning thread or yarn

   The household employed a spinster to turn the prepared wool into yarn.

From Middle English spynnestere, 'a woman who spins,' formed from spin + the feminine agent suffix -ster. Because spinning was a common livelihood for unmarried women, the occupational term became a legal and social label for an unmarried woman. The modern use often sounds dated or insulting.

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