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matronhood

 - 3 dictionary results

ma⋅tron

  [mey-truhn]
Use matronhood in a Sentence
–noun
1. a married woman, esp. one who is mature and staid or dignified and has an established social position.
2. a woman who has charge of the domestic affairs of a hospital, prison, or other institution.
3. a woman serving as a guard, warden, or attendant for women or girls, as in a prison.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME matrone < L mātrōna a married woman, wife, deriv. of māter mother

Related forms:
ma⋅tron⋅al  [mey-truh-nl, ma-] , adjective
ma⋅tron⋅hood, ma⋅tron⋅ship, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

matron 
c.1375, "married woman" (usually one of rank), from O.Fr. matrone, from L. matrona "married woman," from mater (gen. matris) "mother." Sense of "female manager of school, hospital, etc." first recorded 1557.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ma·tron
Pronunciation: 'mA-tr&n
Function: noun
British : a woman superintendent of a medical institution (as a hospital)
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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