matron

From Middle English matrone, from Old French matrone, from Latin matrona (“married woman”), from mater (“mother”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈmeɪtɹən/
• Rhymes: -eɪtɹən

matron (plural matrons)

1. A mature or elderly woman.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Thomas Fuller

     grave from her cradle, insomuch that she was a matron before she was a mother

2. A wife or a widow, especially, one who has borne children.
3. A woman of staid or motherly manners.
   • (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare

     your wives, your daughters, your matrons, and your maids

   • 1907, Robert William Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, OCLC 24962326:

     “A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; and she looked it, always trim and trig and smooth of surface like a converted yacht cleared for action. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, […].

4. A housekeeper, especially, a woman who manages the domestic economy of a public institution.
5. A senior female nurse in an establishment, especially a hospital or school.

   the matron of a school or hospital

6. (US) A female prison officer.

• matron of honour

matron in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

• Morant, Rotman, romant