ˈspinsterhood
[f. spinster 2 b.]
1. The condition of being an unmarried woman or old maid.
| 1823 Lockhart Reg. Dalton i. vi, It must have required the tact of a very Beau Nash to detect in her appearance the very smallest symptom of spinsterhood. 1863 B. Taylor H. Thurston ii. 28 He married..a tall, staid, self-reliant creature, verging on spinsterhood. 1879 H. Phillips Notes Coins 6 In antiquity these coins were known as Maidens, referring to the spinsterhood of the goddess represented upon them. |
2. The collective body of unmarried women.
| 1844 Blackw. Mag. LV. 201 Is this a reason..for leaving, like an uncultivated waste,..the spinsterhood of Great Britain? |