matron
Other forms: matrons
A matron is a dignified, serious-minded married woman. The warden in a women's prison is also called a matron, which may lead you to conclude that the term is often not a glowing compliment.
In a wedding, you can have a maid of honor (the bride’s unmarried attendant) or a matron of honor (one who’s married). Matron includes the Latin root mater, "mother" — as in “maternal,” “maternity,” and “matrimony.” You may imagine matrons as gray-haired and stern, like Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and to avoid negative stereotypes, the title matron, for the woman who runs a nursing home or boarding school, is often replaced with the gender-neutral “director.”
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a married woman (usually middle-aged with children) who is staid and dignified
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type of:
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married woman, wife
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
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married woman, wife
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a wardress in a prison
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type of:
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wardress
a woman warder
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wardress
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a woman in charge of nursing in a medical institution or school
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type of:
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nurse
one skilled in caring for young children or the sick (usually under the supervision of a physician)
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adult female, woman
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
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nurse
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Vocabulary lists containing matron
After a plague of dreamlessness spreads across North America, seventeen-year-old Frenchie is captured so the Canadian government can harvest his bone marrow as a cure. Frenchie must find a way to escape and reunite with his found family.
In this biography, Amy Butler Greenfield tells the story of Elizebeth Smith Friedman, a Shakespeare enthusiast who became one of the most famous cryptologists in the world.
Once a week, Castle Glower magically expands. When her parents disappear, Princess Celie must use her knowledge of the castle's ever-changing layout to find them.
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