spinster
A woman who has never been married, especially one past the typical marrying age…A woman who has never been married, especially one past the typical marrying age according to social traditions.
» My aunt died an old spinster.
Моя тётя умерла старой девой.
Meaning
5 senses(derogatory, sometimes)A woman who has never been married, especially one past the typical marrying age according to social traditions.
One who spins (puts a spin on) a political media story so as to give something a favorable or advantageous appearance; a spin doctor, spin merchant or spinmeister.
(dialectal, rare)A spider; an insect (such as a silkworm) which spins thread.
(obsolete)Someone whose occupation was spinning thread.
Spinner, Spinnerin
сучильщицаsučilʹščica, прядильщицаprjadilʹščica
(obsolete)A woman of evil life and character; so called from being forced to spin in a house of correction.
alte Jungfer, Junggesellin, unverheiratete Frau
ста́рая де́ваstáraja déva, векову́хаvekovúxa
стара́ ді́ваstará díva
- an elderly unmarried woman
- someone who spins (who twists fibers into threads)
Examples
7 sentencesMy aunt died an old spinster.
ruМоя тётя умерла старой девой.
Layla is gonna die a spinster.
She remained a spinster all her life.
ruОна осталась старой девой на всю жизнь.
You may end up being a spinster.
Yidir had two daughters who remained spinsters.
Translations
9 languagesBy meaning 2
Origin
From Middle English spynnestere (“woman who spins fibre”), from c. 1350; equivalent to spiFrom Middle English spynnestere (“woman who spins fibre”), from c. 1350; equivalent to spin + -ster. The semantic development is from a historical notion of unmarried women spinning thread for a living.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: spinstersSynonyms
3 synonyms- an elderly unmarried woman:old maid
- someone who spins (who twists fibers into threads):spinnerthread maker