ə, dyu- 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
1660–70; < Spanish duenna (now dueña) < Latin domina, feminine of dominus master
Related forms
du·en·na·ship, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To duenna
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World English Dictionary
duenna (djuːˈɛnə) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —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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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Duenna
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
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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