housekeeper
(ˈhaʊskiːpə(r))
[f. house n.1+ keeper n., i.e. keeper of a house.]
1. = householder. Now rare or Obs.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 251/1 Howskepare, edituus, editua. 1536 Stapleton in Lett. & Pap. Hen. VIII (1890) XII. 189 At the request of honest men, he, being a house-keeper, was suffered to go unpunished. 1605 Lond. Prodigal i. ii, She hath refused seven of the worshipfull'st And worthiest housekeepers this day in Kent. 1685 in Picton L'pool Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 329 None but housekeepers shall sitt in the seate on y⊇ north side..and..none but the wives and widdows of housekeepers..'twixt the baylives wives and y⊇ font. 1766 Entick London IV. 128 A handsome street, inhabited..by private housekeepers. 1833 H. Martineau Brooke Farm ii. 21 A piece of ground will be given to every housekeeper in return for his right of common. |
| fig. 1645 Bp. Hall Remedy Discontents 38 The great Housekeeper of the world knows how to fit every palate with that which either is, or should be agreeable. |
† 2. (With qualifying
adj.) One who ‘keeps a (good, bountiful, etc.) house’ (see
house n.1 18 b); a hospitable person.
Obs.| 1538 Latimer Serm. & Rem. (1845) 411 The man is ..a good housekeeper, feedeth many, and that daily. 1586 J. Hooker Girald. Irel. in Holinshed II. 137/2 Bountifull and liberall..a great housekeeper, and of great hospitalitie. a 1661 Fuller Worthies (1840) I. 281 John Barnston..a bountiful house⁓keeper. a 1707 Bp. Patrick Autobiogr. (1839) 71 Her grandmother, being a person of quality, a great housekeeper and very religious. |
3. a. A person in charge of a house, office, place of business, etc.
| 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 6 The day following came to court the housekeeper of Poggio. 1709 Strype Ann. Ref. I. xv. 191 Nonsuch, another of her houses, of which the noble earl of Arundel seems to be now house⁓keeper. 1714 Lond. Gaz. No. 5274/8 Matthew Aylmer, Esq...to be..Housekeeper of His Majesty's Royal Palace of Greenwich Park. 1768 Ellis in Phil. Trans. LVIII. 78 Mr. Robertson, housekeeper to the Royal Society. Mod. The Bank occupies the three floors; the housekeeper and his family live in the attics. |
† b. A dog kept to guard the house; a watch-dog.
Obs.| 1605 Shakes. Macb. iii. i. 97 The valued file Distinguishes the swift, the slow, the subtle, The House-keeper, the Hunter. 1688 R. Holme Armoury ii. ix. 186/1 The Village-Dog, or House-keeper..bigly barking, so as to terrifie Rogues and Theives. |
4. A woman engaged in housekeeping or domestic occupations (see
house n.1 18 c); a woman who manages or superintends the affairs of a household;
esp. the woman in control of the female servants of a household.
| 1607 Shakes. Cor. i. iii. 55 How do you both? You are manifest house-keepers. What are you sowing [sewing] heere? 1724 Swift Stella's Birthday 9 Merry folks..Call the old house-keeper, and get her To fill a place. 1766 Fordyce Serm. Yng. Wom. (1767) I. vi. 226 Mistresses that leave all to housekeepers and other servants. 1834 H. Martineau Demerara xii. 140 The little pining thing that was kept in the housekeeper's room. 1859 Dickens Lett. (1880) II. 87 My eldest daughter is a capital housekeeper. |
5. One who ‘keeps the house’, or stays at home (see
house n.1 18 d).
| c 1710 C. Fiennes Diary (1888) 75 They..scarce ever go 2 or 10 mile from thence especially the women, so may be termed good housekeepers. 1826 Scott Jrnl. 12 June, Grief makes me a housekeeper, and to labour is my only resource. |
Hence (in sense 4)
ˈhousekeeper-like,
ˈhouseˌkeeperly adjs., like or characteristic of a housekeeper.
ˈhouseˌkeepership, the position or office of a housekeeper.
| 1839 Lett. fr. Madras xxvii. (1843) 294 A sort of good-natured, housekeeper-like bodies, who talk only of ayahs and amahs. 1883 Howells Woman's Reason iii. I. 60 Marian..turned to her mother with an air of house⁓keeperly pre-occupation to ask something about the lunch. 1896 Daily News 2 May 7/2 Her grandson..wrote to contradict the story of the housekeepership. |