English Explanatory Dictionary

handmaiden

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Alternative form of handmaid.
  2. A cisgender woman who supports transgender rights.

Pronunciation

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-handmaiden.wav

Word forms

handmaiden handmaidens

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 writer Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale (1985), in which "handmaids" are women who serve the male commanders in a patriarchal dystopia.

Derived words

handmaidenhood handmaidenly
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