old maid

  • 1Old maid — Maid Maid, n. [Shortened from maiden. ?. See {Maiden}.] 1. An unmarried woman; usually, a young unmarried woman; esp., a girl; a virgin; a maiden. [1913 Webster] Would I had died a maid, And never seen thee, never borne thee son. Shak. [1913… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2Old maid — Old Old, a. [Compar. {Older}; superl. {Oldest}.] [OE. old, ald, AS. ald, eald; akin to D. oud, OS. ald, OFries. ald, old, G. alt, Goth. alpeis, and also to Goth. alan to grow up, Icel. ala to bear, produce, bring up, L. alere to nourish. Cf.… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 3old maid — old maids N COUNT (disapproval) People sometimes refer to an old or middle aged woman as an old maid when she has never married and they think that it is unlikely that she ever will marry. This use could cause offence. Alex is too young to be… …

    English dictionary

  • 4old-maid — old maid·ish·ness; old maid·ish·ly; …

    English syllables

  • 5old maid — old′ maid′ n. 1) off usu. disp. an elderly or confirmed spinster 2) a fussy, timid, prudish person 3) gam a simple card game, played with a deck having one card removed, in which players match pairs, the loser being the holder of the odd card,… …

    From formal English to slang

  • 6old maid — noun count 1. ) an insulting word for an older woman who has not been married and is unlikely to get married 2. ) INFORMAL someone who has old fashioned opinions and is too worried about small details ╾ ,old maidish adjective …

    Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • 7old maid — n old fashioned not polite an offensive word for a woman who has never married and is not young any more = ↑spinster …

    Dictionary of contemporary English

  • 8old maid — ► NOUN 1) derogatory a single woman regarded as too old for marriage. 2) a prim and fussy person. 3) a card game in which players collect pairs and try not to be left with an odd penalty card, typically a queen …

    English terms dictionary

  • 9old maid — n. 1. a woman, esp. an older woman, who has never married; spinster: a mild term of contempt 2. a prim, prudish, fussy person 3. a simple card game played with a deck containing one card with no match, the loser being the player left with that… …

    English World dictionary

  • 10Old Maid — Infobox CardGame title = Old Maid subtitle = Also: Queen of Spades, Chase the Ace image link = image caption = alt names = type = players = 3+ ages = num cards = 49, 51, or 53 play = Clockwise card rank = origin = related = playing time = random… …

    Wikipedia