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handmaiden

 [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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Handmaiden is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
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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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