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duenna

[doo-en-uh, dyoo-] Origin

du·en·na

[doo-en-uh, dyoo-]
noun
1.
(in Spain and Portugal) an older woman serving as escort or chaperon of a young lady.
2.
a governess.

Origin:
1660–70; < Spanish duenna (now dueña) < Latin domina, feminine of dominus master

du·en·na·ship, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Duenna is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
Collins
World English Dictionary
duenna (djuːˈɛnə)
 
n
(in Spain and Portugal, etc) an elderly woman retained by a family to act as governess and chaperon to young girls
 
[C17: from Spanish dueña, from Latin domina lady, feminine of dominus master]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

duenna
1668, "chief lady in waiting upon the queen of Spain," also "an elderly woman in charge of girls from a Sp. family," from Sp. dueña "married lady, mistress" (fem. of dueño "master"), from L. domina. Sense extended in Eng. to "any elderly woman chaperon of a younger woman" (1708).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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