governess

CEFRC1

/ˈɡʌvɚnəs/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A woman employed to teach and care for children in their home.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A female governor.

Examples

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

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

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The wife of a governor.

  2. A woman paid to educate children in their own home.

verb

Extra meaning

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

More examples

In context

  • Boy, you are a crabby lady! Who are you? Calvin's cruel governess?

  • [Mashenka Pavletsky] returning from a walk to the house of the Kushkins, with whom she was living as a governess, found the household in a terrible turmoil.

  • The Lady Governeſs of the Town drew near to me; […]

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The wealthy family hired a blank to educate their children at home.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

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.