Standard Lemma guide

duenna

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /duˈɛ.nə/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A chaperon of a young lady, usually an older woman.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A governess or nanny.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a woman chaperon

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: chaperon, chaperone

History

Etymology

From Old Spanish duenna or dueña, from Vulgar Latin donna, from Latin domina (“Lady”). Doublet of dame.

Across languages

Translations

17 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: компаньо́нка (kompanjónka) — a chaperon of a young lady
  • French: accompagnatrice — a chaperon of a young lady
  • German: Begleiterin — a chaperon of a young lady
  • German: Aufsichtsperson — a chaperon of a young lady
  • German: Anstandsdame — a chaperon of a young lady
  • German: Aufpasser — a chaperon of a young lady
  • German: Begleitung — a chaperon of a young lady
  • German: Begleitperson — a chaperon of a young lady
  • Russian: компаньо́нка (kompanʹónka) — a chaperon of a young lady
  • Russian: дуэ́нья (duénʹja) — a chaperon of a young lady
  • Bulgarian: гуверна́нтка (guvernántka) — a governess or nanny
  • German: Erzieherin — a governess or nanny
  • German: Gouvernante — a governess or nanny
  • German: Hauslehrerin — a governess or nanny
  • German: Kinderfrau — a governess or nanny
  • German: Kinderfräulein — a governess or nanny
  • Russian: гуверна́нтка (guvernántka) — a governess or nanny