lady-in-waiting

English
WOTD – 22 October 2019

Etymology
Franz Xaver Winterhalter, Eugénie, Empress of the French and her Ladies (1855),[n 1] which depicts Eugénie de Montijo, the wife of Napoleon III, surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting

From lady + in + waiting (“attendance, service”).[1]

Pronunciation

Noun

lady-in-waiting (plural ladies-in-waiting)

  1. A lady, often a noblewoman, in the household of a queen, princess, or other woman of higher rank who attends her as a personal assistant, generally a role considered an honour.
    Synonym: court lady
  2. A woman who is a maid or servant to a lady, similar to a valet for a gentleman.

Translations

Notes
  1. From the collection of the Musée du Second Empire in the Château de Compiègne, Compiègne, Oise, France.

References
  1. “lady-in-waiting, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2008; “lady-in-waiting” in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press.

Further reading
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