handmaiden
Meanings
Plural: handmaidens
Noun
- in a subordinate position
- "theology should be the handmaiden of ethics"
- a personal maid or female attendant
- Alternative form of handmaid.
- A cisgender woman who supports transgender rights.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English hande mayden, handmaiden, hand mayden, hand-mayden, handmayden, hondemaiden, hond maydyn, hoondmaydyn. By surface analysis, hand + maiden.
Sense 2 is an allusion to Canadian poet Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale (1985), in which "handmaids" are women who serve the male commanders in a patriarchal dystopia.
Scrabble Score: 17
handmaiden is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordhandmaiden is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
handmaiden is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary
Words With Friends Score: 19
handmaiden is a valid Words With Friends word