old maid

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noun

Disparaging and Offensive. an elderly or confirmed spinster.
a fussy, timid, prudish person.
Cards.
  1. a simple game, played with a deck having one card removed, in which the players draw from one another to match pairs and the one holding an odd queen at the end loses.
  2. the loser of such a game.

Origin of old maid

First recorded in 1520–30

usage note for old maid

The meaning “a spinster” is used with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting. It puts emphasis on the woman’s advanced age and assumed inability to ever attract a husband. See also spinster.

Words nearby old maid

old lady of threadneedle street, old latin, old line state, old low franconian, old low german, old maid, old man, old man and the sea, the, old man of the sea, old man of the woods, old man's beard

Words related to old maid

fuddy-duddy, goody-goody, maiden, prig, prude, spinster

Example sentences from the Web for old maid

British Dictionary definitions for old maid

old maid

noun

a woman regarded as unlikely ever to marry; spinster
informal a prim, fastidious, or excessively cautious person
a card game using a pack from which one card has been removed, in which players try to avoid holding the unpaired card at the end of the game

Derived forms of old maid

old-maidish, adjective