noun · rare

wench

wench · wenches

A girl or young woman, especially a buxom or lively oneA girl or young woman, especially a buxom or lively one.

/wɛnt͡ʃ/

» One of the most forward of these wenches gave him a kiss, which elated Daphnis, but tormented poor Chloe.

Meaning

7 senses

(archaic, dialectal, humorous, offensive, possibly)A girl or young woman, especially a buxom or lively one.
Jane played the role of a wench in an Elizabethan comedy.
informal terms for a (young) woman
A girl or young woman, especially a buxom or lively one.
(archaic, dialectal, humorous, offensive, possibly, specifically)A girl or young woman of a lower class.
де́вкаdévka, ба́баbába
(archaic, dialectal)Used as a term of endearment for a female person, especially a wife, daughter, or girlfriend: darling, sweetheart.
(archaic)A woman servant; a maidservant.
Magd, Dienerin
дівкаdivka
(archaic)A promiscuous woman; a mistress (“other woman in an extramarital relationship”).
Flittchen, Schlampe
де́вкаdévka, проститу́ткаprostitútka
(archaic)A prostitute.
Hure
(US, archaic, historical)A black woman (of any age), especially if in a condition of servitude.

Examples

1 sentences

One of the most forward of these wenches gave him a kiss, which elated Daphnis, but tormented poor Chloe.
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Translations

8 languages

Українська

(archaic) girl or young woman:

Русский

(archaic) girl or young woman:

(archaic) girl or young woman of a lower class:

(archaic) promiscuous woman:

Deutsch

(archaic) girl or young woman:

(archaic) woman servant:

(archaic) promiscuous woman:

(archaic) prostitute:

Origin

The noun is derived from Middle English wench, wenche (“female baby; girl (especially unma

The noun is derived from Middle English wench, wenche (“female baby; girl (especially unmarried); maiden, young woman; bondwoman; serving maid; beloved, sweetheart; concubine, mistress; harlot, prostitute”) [and other forms], a shortened form of Middle English wenchel (“girl; maiden; child”), from Old English wenċel, winċel (“child; servant; slave”), from Proto-Germanic *wankilą, from Proto-Germanic *wankijaną (“to sway; waver”). The English word is cognate with Old High German wenken (“to waver; to give way, yield”), wankōn (“to totter”).

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