▪ I. maid, n.1
(meɪd)
Forms: 2 meide, 2–3 mede, 3 mæide, 3–6 meyde, mayde, 3–7 maide, 5–7 mayd, (6 mayed, 7 made), 6– maid.
[Shortened from maiden: not identical with OE. mæᵹeð= G. magd.]
1. a. A girl; a young (unmarried) woman. = maiden 1. Now only (exc. dial.) arch. or playful.
| c 1205 Lay. 256 Þa þis child was feir muche Þa luuede he a maide. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 297 Þis mayde ispoused was of so heye blode. c 1320 Sir Tristr. 2702 Þe maide answerd in lede, ‘Þer of haue þow no care’. c 1407 Lydg. Reas. & Sens. 151 Faire and fresh of hewe, As a mayde in hir beaute. 1546–7 Test. Ebor. (Surtees Soc.) VI. 252 Desiringe her to be good ladie to my litle meyde, her god doughter. 1571 Abp. Grindal Articles § 54 Legacies giuen..to other..godly vses as to..poore Maydes marriages. 1596 Spenser F.Q. vi. xii. 20 She found..That this young Mayd..Is her owne daughter. 1629 Milton Hymn Nativ. xxii, In vain the Tyrian Maids their wounded Thamuz mourn. 1782 Cowper ‘Sweet stream’, Sweet stream..Apt emblem of a virtuous maid! 1800 Coleridge Christabel ii. 238 Sweet maid,..Thy sire and I will crush the snake! 1830 Tennyson Poems 142 There are no maids like English maids, So beautiful as they be. 1886 Kipling Departm. Ditties, etc. (1888) 64 ‘By all I am misunderstood!’ if the Matron shall say, or the Maid. |
b. poet. in personifications. (Freq. in the 18th c.)
| 1742 Gray Adversity 27 Melancholy, silent maid, With leaden eye. 1747 Collins Ode Passions 1 When Music, heavenly maid, was young. |
2. a. A virgin;
spec. of the Virgin Mary (
† maid Mary);
= maiden 2.
Obs. or
arch.| a 1175 Cott. Hom. 227 To ane mede þe was Maria ȝehaten. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 77 Þet halie meide [sc. Maria]. c 1275 Passion our Lord 597 in O.E. Misc. 54 Vre louerd ihesu crist þe wes ibore of þe meyde. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. 79/57 I-bore of mayde marie. c 1320 Sir Beues 2197 Þat i ne tok neuer wif, Boute ȝhe were maide clene. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1470 Thou art mayde and kepere of vs alle..And whil I lyue a mayde I wol thee serue. c 1410 Hoccleve Moder of God 11 Humble lady mayde modir and wyf. c 1483 Caxton Dialogues 48/17 Who serueth our lord, And the mayde marye. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxx. 4 Thow..Gabriell send with the salutatioun On-to the mayd of maist humilite. a 1529 Skelton Replyc. 47 Wks. 1843 I. 210 Wotte ye what ye sayed Of Mary, mother and mayed? 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 479 Cydippe with Licorias, one a Maid, And one that once had call'd Lucina's Aid. 1834 Sir H. Taylor 2nd Pt. Philip van Artevelde v. i. (song), Quoth tongue of neither maid nor wife To heart of neither wife nor maid. |
b. Hist. As a title of Joan of Arc,
the Maid (
Maid of God,
Maid of Orleans), a rendering of F.
la Pucelle.
| a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI (1809) 157 This wytch or manly woman, (called the maide of God) the Frenchemen greatly glorified. 1691 J. Heath Eng. Chron. 164 Joan, called by the French, the Maid of God. 1762 Hume Hist. Eng. to Hen. VII, II. 335 marg., The maid of Orleans. 1849 Lingard Hist. Eng. (1855) IV. i. 17/2 The maid of Orleans..led the assailants. 1875 J. Gairdner Lancaster & York vii. (ed.2) 130 Rumours of the..miracles of the Maid were repeated even in the English camp. |
† c. transf. A man that has always abstained from sexual intercourse. (
Cf. Gr. παρθένος and patristic L.
virgo.)
Obs.| 1340 Ayenb. 230 Saint Ion þe ewangelist þet wes mayde wes amang þe apostles þe meste belouede of oure lhorde. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 365 A preost þat is clene mayde. 1460 J. Capgrave Chron. (1858) 5 Abel,..a mayde, a martire, killid of his brothir of pure envy. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. cxv. [cxi.] 331 He was swete, courtesse, meke, and a mayde of body. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. v. i. 270 You are betroth'd both to a maid and man. 1606 B. Jonson Hymenæi 94 View two noble Maids Of either sexe, to Union sacrificed. a 1641 Bp. R. Montagu Acts & Mon. (1642) 542 Joseph was..a maid, never knowing woman, as never being married before. 1710 Brit. Apollo III. No. 60. 2/2 He Dy'd a Maid. |
3. An unmarried woman, spinster.
† to stand on the maid: (of a woman) to remain single. (Now
rare exc. in
old maid.)
| 1603 Dekker Wonderfull Yeare E, To die maides! O horrible! 1615 Chapman Odyss. vi. 52 Because thou shalt no more stand on the Maid [ἐπεὶ οὔτοι ἔτι δην παρθένος ἔσσεαι]. 1648 Par Reg. St. John Maddermarket, Norwich (MS.), A maid almost a hundred yeare old, buried 14 Nov. Anno dni 1648. 1700 Dryden Sigis. & Guisc. 16 For this, when ripe for marriage, he delayed Her nuptial bands, and kept her long a maid. 1747 General Advertiser 4 July, The Match [at Cricket]..between the Maids of Charlton and the Maids of Singleton..will be play'd in the Artillery-Ground. 1814 Scott Wav. v, Miss Lucy St. Aubin lived and died a maid for his sake. |
4. a. A female servant or attendant; a maid-servant; often with defining word prefixed as
bar-maid,
chamber-maid,
farm-maid,
house-maid,
nurse-maid,
servant-maid, etc.,
q.v.;
lady's maid (see
lady 18).
| 1390 Gower Conf. I. 128 Sche..goth to chambre and hath compleigned Unto a Maide which she triste. 1513 More Rich. III (1883) 59 That it was not princely to mary hys owne subject,..onely as it were a rich man that would mary his mayde. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. ix. (S.T.S.) 9 Thy nychtbouris wyfe..Thow couet not to the,..his oxe, his maide nor page. 1658 Evelyn Diary 27 Jan., He [a child] would..select the most pathetic psalms,..to reade to his mayde during his sicknesse. 1698 Wanley in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 258 The maid told me that Dr. Smith had been there since I went. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxv, You must dismiss your maid, lady. 1835 Gentl. Mag. Nov. 491 We kept no maid:—and I had much to do. 1860 Queen Victoria Life Highl. (1868) 138 The two maids had driven over by another road in the waggonette. 1880 Ouida Moths I. 39 My maid must run up something for you to wear by to-morrow. |
b. maid-of-all-work, a female servant who does all kinds of house-work.
| 1809 Malkin Gil Blas iv. vii. ¶8 An old abigail, whom I had formerly known as maid-of-all-work to an actress. 1848 Thackeray Trav. Lond. Wks. 1886 XXIV. 350 The red-haired maid-of-all-work coming out with yesterday's paper. 1887 Spectator 16 Apr. 534/2 First she is a maid-of-all-work in the family of a poor clergyman. |
| transf. 1858 Huxley in Life (1900) I. xii. 158 Non-official maid-of-all-work in Natural Science to the Government. |
5. In certain American universities used as a degree-title in correspondence to
Bachelor. Now
Hist.| 1885 Pall Mall G. 5 Mar. 3/2 The Americans..talk of Miss Bluestocking..as ‘Maid of Philosophy’, ‘Maid of Science’, ‘Maid of Arts’. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. III. vi. cii. 445 note, Mr. D. C. Gilman..mentions the following among the degree titles awarded in some institutions to women..Laureate of Science, Proficient in Music, Maid of Philosophy. |
6. Applied
dial. to various inanimate objects (see also E.D.D.).
a. = maiden n. 5.
b. = maiden n. 6.
c. A clothes-horse;
= maiden n. 7 b.
d. A washerwoman's dolly;
= maiden 7 c.
| a. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Kissing the Maid, an Engine in Scotland, and at Halifax in England. |
| b. 1786 Har'st Rig cxlii. (1794) 43 Lang was the Har'st and little corn! And, sad mischance! the Maid was shorn After sunset. |
| c. 1795 Lond. Chron. 23 July 78 As if a horse, or maid for clothes, had been thrown with violence to the ground. |
| d. 1882 W. Worc. Gloss. 36. |
7. A name given to the Skate and Thornback (
Raia batis and
R. clavata) when young. Also to the Twait Shad,
Alosa finta (in
Fr. similarly called
pucelle).
Cf. maiden n. 8.
| 1579 J. Jones Preserv. Bodie & Soule i. xiv. 26 Of fishes,..Whiting, Smelt, Maids, Loch, Sammon. 1598 Epulario F iiij, Take out the guts of maids or Thornebackes by the gils with a forke or string. 1655 Moufet & Bennet Health's Improv. 157 Maides are as little and tender Skates. 1714 Gay Trivia ii. 292 The golden-belly'd Carp, the broad-finn'd Maid. 1769 Pennant Brit. Zool. III. 70 Their [the thornbacks'] young..which (as well as those of the skate) before they are old enough to breed, are called maids. 1851 Mayhew Lond. Labour I. 65 Piles of huge maids, dropping slime from the counter, are eagerly examined and bartered for. 1862 Couch Brit. Fishes IV. 122 Twait Shad. Maid. |
8. Comb.:
a. appositive, as
maid-attendant,
maid-mother,
maid-nurse,
maid service,
maid-slave,
maid-widow,
† maid-woman;
b. attributive, as
maid-face;
c. originative, as
maid-birth,
maid-born adjs.;
d. parasynthetic, as
maid-faced adj.;
e. similative, as
maid-like,
maid-pale adjs.; also
maid-fish = sense 7;
† maids' ale, the festival of the maidens' guild;
† maid's hair,
Galium verum;
maid's sickness = green-sickness.
| 1896 Daily News 30 Oct. 10/7 *Maid-Attendant to an elderly or invalid lady. |
| 1855 Bailey Mystic, etc. 91 The pearl conceived of dew and lightning, type Of that pure *maid-birth yet to bless the world. |
| a 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Poems Wks. (1711) 24 Mild creatures, in whose warm crib now lies That..holy *maid-born Wight. |
| c 1407 Lydg. Reas. & Sens. 3629 Euerych hath a *mayde face Of syghte lusty to enbrace. |
| 1610 Healey St. Aug. Citie of God 686 Sphinx *maid-fac'd, fetherd-foule, foure-footed beast. |
| 1810 Splendid Follies I. 130 Distorting her countenance to the semblance of a *maid-fish. |
| 1606 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iv. ii. Magnif. 1417 A Mars-like Courage in a *Maid-like blush. 1839 Bailey Festus iii. (1852) 28 Seven fair maidlike moons attending him Perfect his sky. |
| 1830 Tennyson Pal. Art xxiv, The *maid-mother..Sat smiling, babe in arm. |
| 1895 Daily News 15 May 10/6 Mrs. H. wishes to recommend her maid..as *Maid-Nurse. |
| 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, iii. iii. 98 Ten thousand bloody crownes of Mothers Sonnes Shall..Change the complexion of her *Maid-pale Peace To Scarlet Indignation. |
| 1547 Croscombe Ch.-wardens' Accts. (Som. Rec. Soc.), [Received from] The *maydes ayll xxijs vjd. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. ccccxlviii. 968 In English our Ladies Bedstraw, Cheese renning, *Maides Haire, and petie Mugwet. 1657 Coles Adam in Eden cccxliii, It is called..in English Ladies Bedstraw, and sometimes Maids haire, from the finenesse of the Leaves. |
| 1951 N.Y. Times 28 Oct. viii. 19 (Advt.), Shamrock apartment hotel... *Maid service. 1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 Feb. 49/1 (Advt.), Prince Carlton Hotel Ltd. Rooms. Maid service, telephones. 1969 ‘O. Bleeck’ Brass Go-Between (1970) vi. 69 In addition to daily maidservice, the Adelphi offered a restaurant and bar. 1971 Country Life 23 Dec. 1814/4 [Villa]..Sleep 10, c.h.w., refrigerator, maid service. 1973 H. Nielsen Severed Key v. 60, I wonder if this place provides maid service. |
| 1633 Ford 'Tis Pity iii. ii, May bee, 'tis but the *Maides sicknesse, an ouer-flux of youth. |
| 1603 North's Plutarch, Camillus (1612) 150 Faire *maide slaues dressed vp like gentlewomen. |
| 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. ii. ii. §92 He stayed so long, that his Church presumed him dead, and herself a *Maid-Widow, which lawfully might receive another Husband. |
| c 1320 Sir Beues (MS. A) 2203 And boute þe finde me *maide wimman..Send me aȝen to me fon. |
▪ II. † maid, n.2 Corrupt form of
medine, Egyptian coin.
Obs.| 1674 S. Jeake Arith. (1696) 134 At..Alexandria, They accompt by Ducats, either Ducat de Pargo, of 120 Maids,..or Italian Ducat of 35 Maids. |
▪ III. maid, v. [f. maid n.1] 1. intr. To do maids' work; to act as a maid.
| 1900 Pinero Gay Ld. Quex i. 14 And when I got sick of maiding, I went to Dundas's opposite, and served three years at the hairdressing. 1936 M. Mitchell Gone with Wind iv. 63 My Prissy been maidin' fo' Miss India fo' a year now. 1958 V. P. Johns Servant's Probl. i. 11 During the two months I've been maiding for Mr. Atterbury, one or the other of them have been in every day. |
2. dial. = maiden v. 2.
3. trans. To wait on (a person) as a maid.
| 1909 R. Hichens Bella Donna xxi. 228, I must learn to maid you. 1929 ‘R. Oke’ Frolic Wind v. 83 It was, of course, certainly untrue that she had a fourth to maid her. 1934 A. Christie Murder on Orient Express iii. iv. 219 Susanne..used to look after my clothes and maid me. 1949 C. H. B. Kitchin Cornish Fox xi. 164 What would happen to the Colonel after the wedding?.. Upton wouldn't be at all pleased if Delia continued to ‘maid’ her father from Southview. |
Hence
ˈmaiding vbl. n.| 1882 W. Worc. Gloss. 36 Maiding-tub. 1900 [see maid v. 1]. 1921 Chambers's Jrnl. 1 Jan. 73/1 If you require ‘maiding’, you tell the lady of the bureau of your floor, and she supplies you with an attendant. 1955 ‘C. H. Rolph’ Women of Streets vi. 78 Maiding to a prostitute is a definite job. |
▪ IV. maid obs. pa. tense and
pa. pple. of
make v.