Nearby Words

handmaid

[hand-meyd] Origin

hand·maid

[hand-meyd]
noun
1.
something that is necessarily subservient or subordinate to another: Ceremony is but the handmaid of worship.
2.
a female servant or attendant.
Also, hand·maid·en.


Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English; see hand, maid
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Handmaid is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
Collins
World English Dictionary
handmaiden or handmaid (ˈhændˌmeɪdən)
 
n
1.  a person or thing that serves a useful but subordinate purpose: logic is the handmaid of philosophy
2.  archaic a female servant or attendant
 
handmaid or handmaid
 
n

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

handmaid
1382, from hand (in the sense in close at hand) + maid. Cf. O.E. handþrgn "personal attendant."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Easton
Bible Dictionary

Handmaid definition


servant (Gen. 16:1; Ruth 3:9; Luke 1:48). It is probable that Hagar was Sarah's personal attendant while she was in the house of Pharaoh, and was among those maid-servants whom Abram had brought from Egypt.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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