Meaning

1 senses

  1. To work as governess; to educate children in their own home.

Examples

3 sentences

  1. I had a Canadian governess.

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  2. Mary used to work as a governess for a wealthy family.

    shekitten · Tatoeba · CC0 · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  3. Old rich families used to employ a governess to look after their children.

    fishda · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

Origin

From Middle English governesse, a contracted form of governeresse, from Old French governe

From Middle English governesse, a contracted form of governeresse, from Old French governeresse (“female ruler or administrator”). In later senses, equivalent to govern(or) + -ess.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

governesses, governessing, governessed, governessed
Base formgoverness · to governess
3rd person singulargovernesses
Present participlegovernessing
Past simplegovernessed
Past participlegovernessed

regular · Lesson

Present simpleLesson

I, you, we, theygoverness
he, she, itgovernesses

Past simpleLesson

all personsgovernessed

Present perfectLesson

I, you, we, theyhave governessed
he, she, ithas governessed

Future simple (will)Lesson

all personswill governess

Lessons for this word

3 lessons

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
goutC2governB1governancegovernmentA2governmentalB2governorB1gownB1
governess — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto