housemaid
noun
- character in the play "A Doll's House" by Henrik Ibsen
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈhaʊsˌmeɪd/
noun
Etymology: From house + maid.
- A female domestic worker responsible for cleaning a house.
“With a dramatic gesture, he pointed to a large splash of candle grease on the floor by the writing-table. "It must have been done since yesterday, otherwise a good housemaid would have at once removed it with blotting-paper and a hot iron. […]””
- A housewife.
verb
Etymology: From house + maid.
- To be a housemaid.
- To wait on someone hand on foot, to watch them.
- To clean, as a housemaid.
“Giving that up, she took a broom and a duster and went upstairs to housemaid Mrs Dibble's bedroom, with her head tied up in a coloured scarf. It was a dusty, snuffy job, for penuriousness in Mrs Dibble refused to throw anything away, including dirt, and if anything fell on the floor it remained there.”