spinster
NounWordNet 3.0
Noun (2)
- an elderly unmarried womanSynonyms: old maid
- someone who spins (who twists fibers into threads)Synonyms: spinnerthread maker
Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)
Spinster \Spin"ster\, n. [Spin + -ster.]
1.A woman who spins, or whose occupation is to spin. [1913 Webster]
She spake to spinster to spin it out.— Piers Plowman.[1913 Webster]
The spinsters and the knitters in the sun.— Shak.[1913 Webster]
2.A man who spins. [Obs.] --Shak. [1913 Webster]
3.(Law) An unmarried or single woman; -- used in legal proceedings as a title, or addition to the surname. [1913 Webster]
If a gentlewoman be termed a spinster, she may abate the writ.— Coke.[1913 Webster]
4.A woman of evil life and character; -- so called from being forced to spin in a house of correction. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]