Standard Lemma guide

handmaid

noun · 4 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.

  • US: /ˈhændˌmeɪd/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ændmeɪd
  • homophone: handmade

1

noun

Meaning 1

A maid that waits at hand; a female servant or attendant.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: historical

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A moth of the species Dysauxes ancilla.

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 personal maid or female attendant

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: handmaiden

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: maid, maidservant, housemaid, amah

4

noun

Meaning 4

in a subordinate position

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • theology should be the handmaiden of ethics
  • the state cannot be a servant of the church

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: handmaiden, servant

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: subordinateness, subsidiarity

History

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English handemayde, hand-maide, handmaide, handmayd, hand mayde, hand-mayde, haundmaid, hondemayde, hondmaide, hond-mayde. By surface analysis, compound of hand + maid, the first component in the sense of "ready at hand".

Across languages

Translations

21 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: աղախին (aġaxin) — maid that waits at hand
  • Chinese: 女婢 (lí-pī) — maid that waits at hand
  • Chinese: 查某囝 (zh-min-nan) — maid that waits at hand
  • Czech: služebná — maid that waits at hand
  • Czech: služebnice — maid that waits at hand
  • Dutch: dienstmaagd — maid that waits at hand
  • Finnish: palvelijatar — maid that waits at hand
  • German: Dienerin — maid that waits at hand
  • German: Zofe — maid that waits at hand
  • Irish: bansclábhaí — maid that waits at hand
  • Latin: pedisequa — maid that waits at hand
  • Old English: þēowen — maid that waits at hand
  • Old English: wīln — maid that waits at hand
  • Portuguese: empregada — maid that waits at hand
  • Portuguese: donzela — maid that waits at hand
  • Scottish Gaelic: ban-òglach — maid that waits at hand
  • Slovene: služkinja — maid that waits at hand
  • Spanish: azafata — maid that waits at hand
  • Spanish: criada — maid that waits at hand
  • Telugu: దాసి (dāsi) — maid that waits at hand
  • Ukrainian: служни́ця (služnýcja) — maid that waits at hand