governessn.
/ˈɡʌvn̩ᵻs/, /ˈɡʌvn̩ɛs/, U.S. /ˈɡəvərnəs/ 1. † a. A goddess of an activity, sphere, or place; a patron goddess. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
c1450 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Royal 18 D.iv) i. l. 4312 Gouernesse [?a1439 Bodl. 263 Juno..Gouerneresse and goddesse off the hair].
1577 W. Harrison Descr. Eng. (1877) ii. xxiii. i. 352 Minerva was the cheefe goddesse and governesse of those waters.
1599 ‘T. Cutwode’ Caltha Poetarum sig. C7v Proserpine, the sprowtix of our spring, and soueraigne gouernesse of Hearb & Plant.
1655 T. Harvey tr. G. B. Spagnoli Bucolicks viii. 79 O Goddess, Governess of Towns and Franks, We pray thee let not Po swell ore his banks.
1730 A. Gordon tr. F. S. Maffei Compl. Hist. Anc. Amphitheatres 168 Diana, the Governess of all kinds of Hunting.
b. A woman who holds or exercises authority over a place, institution, or group of people; a female ruler, director, or manager. Also in extended use. Now historical and rare (largely superseded by governor).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > [noun] > female
dame?c1225
governoressc1430
ruleressc1450
governess1483
gubernatrice1522
moderatrice1531
governatrice1532
gubernatrix1541
dominatrix1561
governantec1570
moderatrix1577
rectrix1588
rectress1599
moderatress1601
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende f. cclxxxxvi/2 Thappostle halowed to god Ephygene the kynges doughter, and made her maystresse and gouernesse of moo than two honderd Vyrgyns.
1539 Act 31 Hen. VIII c. 13 §2 Abbottes, priours, abbesses, prioresses, and other ecclesiasticall gouernors & gouernesses of such late monasteries.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. cxlv The Lady Margaret gouernesse of Flaunders.
1590 H. Barrow & J. Greenwood Coll. Sclaunderous Articles sig. B iijv All true Christians..acknowledg her Maiestie to be the supreame maiestrate and gouernesse of all persons.
1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 718 The Abbay..whereof her selfe was first Governesse.
a1632 T. Middleton & J. Webster Any Thing for Quiet Life (1662) i. sig. Bv If you will read a Matrons sober staidness in her eye, and all the other grave demeanor fitting the Governess of a House.
1687 R. Wolley tr. N. Besongne Present State France (new ed.) i. xxxi. 280 The Governess or Sub-Governess of the other Maids of Honour.
a1731 P. Aubin Noble Slaves x, in Coll. Entertaining Hist. & Novels (1739) I. 90 She easily obtained leave of the Governess of the Seraglio.
1737 W. Whiston tr. Josephus Jewish War i. iii, in tr. Josephus Genuine Wks. 696 John had left her to be the governess of the publick affairs.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones III. viii. vii. 196 The Landlady was..absolute Governess in these Regions. View more context for this quotation
1797 A. Radcliffe Italian III. iv. 116 This lady was a shining example to governesses of religious houses.
1826 C. Butler Life Grotius xiv. §3. 219 His mother was named by the states Governess of the United Provinces.
1875 I. L. Bird Hawaiian Archipel. vii. 101 The governess of Hawaii, the Princess Keelikalani, has a house on the beach.
c1890 Nunnery Tales (2005) 165 It seems that the Governess of the country villa had a nephew..whom she wished to place as a Royal page.
a1905 F. Cowan Revi-Lona (1978) xxix. 94 She turned to the governess of the district and with a pale face.
1956 'E. de Richarnaud’ Small Rooms of Paris (2008) i. 18 She was the governess of my body's desire.
2004 F. Postma in A. A. MacDonald & A. H. Huussen Scholarly Environments 15 The leaders of the League of the Lower Nobility presented to the governess of the Netherlands..their famous request..for the abolition of the inquisition.
c. figurative. A controlling, directing, or motivating influence (sometimes personified as female); a principal controller or determiner.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > [noun] > female > thing personified as
ladyOE
mistressa1393
governess1531
1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour iii. f. 226 This blessed companye of vertues in this wyse assembled, foloweth Temperaunce, as a sad and discrete matrone and reuerent gouernesse.
1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. (1634) i. xvii. 90 That providence, which is the governesse of all things.
1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xx. 357 Religion is the gouernesse of all vertewes.
1604 T. Wright Passions of Minde (new ed.) ii. ii. 58 The Will, being the governesse of the Soule.
1643 J. Milton Doctr. Divorce 42 To teach us that charity is the high governesse of our belief.
1663 W. Davenant Siege of Rhodes: 2nd Pt. ii. 21 As if our sex's governess, the moon, Had plac'd us but for sport on fortune's lap.
a1695 Z. Cradock Great End Christianity (1706) 24 Eternal Damnation may be..the Instrument of wise Men, but the Mistress and Governess of Fools only.
1696 tr. G. Croese Gen. Hist. Quakers iii. 220 Modesty, that Familiarizer and Governess of all other Virtues.
1740 R. Hurd Let. 14 Dec. in Early Lett. (1995) 32 Art, not Chance..has been the chief governess in this Scroll.
1853 B. Webster Man of Law i. 14 And have I not one resource left in the governess of justice—mercy?
1859 Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star 21 35 Rome, once the governess of man, now assumed a more terrible position as the governess of mind.
1972 R. L. Deakins tr. E. Heywood Il Moro i. 32 Do you mean to tell us that Fortune is the governess of all?
2005 C. Elwes Video Art iii. 53 Descending into lunacy while howling at the moon, at the governess of menstrual tides, celebrates the darker arts.
2. † a. A protectress. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > care, protection, or charge > [noun] > one who looks after > protector or patron > female
protectricec1429
governessc1450
protectrixc1450
protectress1570
c1450 (a1449) J. Lydgate To Mary Queen of Heaven (Hatton 73) l. 15 in Minor Poems (1911) i. 285 (MED) Gouernesse [c1450 Tanner 110(2) Queen of heuene... In gostly woundes be ther gouerneresse To thy .v. Ioies þat haue deuocioun].
c1475 (a1449) J. Lydgate Letabundus (Trin. Cambr.) in Minor Poems (1911) i. 53 Gouernesse [c1460 Harl. Off Isaak seed, of Iacob our day sterre, Geyn worldly trouble our governeresse].
b. A woman responsible for the care, supervision, or direction of a person, typically a child or young lady; a nurse; a guardian; a chaperone. historical in later use.lady, nursery, sub-, under-: see the first element.In quot. 1724 figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > care, protection, or charge > [noun] > one who looks after > one in charge of young person > female
governoressc1422
governess?c1500
governante1637
gouvernante1667
duenna1709
chaperone1720
sheep-dog1847
gooseberry-picker1868
?c1500governouz [see lady governess n. at lady n. Compounds 2e].
1566 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure I. xliv. 340 She being the gouernesse of his Lady, vnderstode ye greatest priuities of her hart.
1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. 335/2 The ladie Marie of Biskie gouernesse [1577 gouerneresse] of the king of Castile and Leon.
1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey iii. 180 Virgins who neuer past the bounds of their Couents but on Sundayes onely (and then attending on their seuerall Gouernesses).
1653 H. Cogan tr. F. M. Pinto Voy. & Adventures liii. 209 I Nhay Nivolau, a poor woman, Governess, and Tutress of my Son, an Orphan, do prostrate my self before thee.
1709 S. Centlivre Busie Body ii. ii. 25 Patch. She threaten'd to slap my Chaps, and told me, I was her Servant, not her Governess. Sir Jeal. Did she so? But I'll make her to know, that you are her Duenna.
1724 W. Warburton Misc. Transl. 67 My Governess Philosophy, under whose Roof I spent my Youth-hood.
1800 B. Thompson tr. A. von Kotzebue Pizarro i. 15 When I grow older, you will, no doubt, make me the governess of your children.
a1854 E. Grant Mem. Highland Lady (1988) I. i. 5 My father's attendant, Bonne or nursery Governess, soon removed with both her charges to their Grandfather Roper's country house.
1924 G. Ade College Widow ii. 61 I'm over twenty-one..Mr. Talbot, and you're not employed as a governess—you're merely a tutor.
2004 S. Broomhall Women's Med. Work Early Mod. France 187 Many of the duties of a governess clearly crossed over with those of court physicians, tutors and theologians appointed to assist in the child's upbringing, as well as the royal parents themselves.
c. A female teacher or instructor, esp. one employed in a private household. Chiefly historical in later use.In the 19th cent. the occupation of governess was often represented in negative terms by those who pursued it (see governessdom n., governess trade n. at Compounds 1a). In the same period governesses were themselves often presented in an unflattering light, as stern, pedantic, and physically plain (see governessy adj., governess v.).
ΘΚΠ
society > education > teaching > teacher > [noun] > professional teacher > governess
mistressc1330
schoolmistress1335
governoressc1422
tutrice1490
tutrix1515
gouvernante1579
tutress1599
tutoress1614
directrice1631
duenna1641
under-governess1669
governess1673
conductress1760
Mam'sellec1794
directress1801
nursery governess1814
mademoiselle1861
finishing governess1862
fräulein1883
govy1899
miss1924
1673 Gentlewomans Compan. 4 They who undertake the difficult Employ of being an Instructress or Governess of Children, should be persons of no mean birth and breeding.
1687 J. Shirley Accomplished Ladies Rich Closet of Rarities (ed. 2) iv. 193 In the first place, I shall say something of a Governess, appointed by Indulgent Parents to instruct a Young Gentlewoman.
1762 O. Goldsmith Citizen of World II. 97 Their language-masters, music-masters, hair-frizzers, and governesses, are all from abroad.
1828 M. R. Mitford Our Village III. 125 She is going to be a governess..and it's to be hoped the little ladies will take kindly to their tables.
1848 C. Brontë Let. 12 May (2000) II. 64 Many a time..she will wish herself a housemaid or kitchen-girl, rather than a baited, trampled, desolate, distracted governess.
1874 L. Carr Judith Gwynne I. iii. 94 The unapproachableness of the disdainful governess.
1876 ‘G. Eliot’ Daniel Deronda II. iv. xxxi. 274 It was to be hoped that he would never cast it up to her that she had been going out to service as a governess.
1884 D. Pae Eustace 22 Two years thereafter he had married the governess.
1890 ‘L. Falconer’ Mademoiselle Ixe (1891) 16 ‘For my part’, said Mrs. Merrington,..‘I think good looks are rather out of place in a governess’.
1923 W. J. Locke Moordius & Co. ii. 17 The family has nothing to do with the way the governess spends her evenings.
1934 Times 9 Jan. 3/5 (advt.) Mrs. Reeves' Agency..can supply qualified Governesses..for large and small establishments.
1999 Daily Tel. 13 Apr. 25/1 A governess failed to educate Mary; she retained happier memories of playing racing demon during zeppelin raids.
2000 K. Shamsie Salt & Saffron (2001) iii. 23 Before he [sc. Taimur] left for boarding school he had an English governess who called him Percy.
3. (The title of) a wife of a governor (governor n. 6). Also as a form of address.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > governor of province, dependency, or colony > [noun] > wife of
governess1691
governoress1869
1691 tr. M.-C. d'Aulnoy Ingenious Lett.: Trav. Spain ii. 46 The Lady Governess of the Town drew near to me.
1759 tr. in Mod. Part Universal Hist. X. vii. xiv. 421 [The Chinese] intended to have preserved the Dutch governor and director-general to have carried umbrellas over their governor's and governess's head, when they went abroad.
1814 B. Heyne Tracts on India 345 The common wood strawberry..was introduced by the Right Hon. Lady Powis when Governess at Madras.
1854 W. M. Thackeray Newcomes I. xxiv. 234 Lady Trotter, the Governess of St. Kitts, you know.
1978 Texas Monthly Apr. 74/3 In Hallettsville..she was introduced as the ‘Governess of Texas’.
2006 Internat. Herald Tribune (Nexis) 26 Apr. 7 The obsession with titles can spill over in unexpected directions, as when the wife of a state governor was addressed in innocent deference as ‘governess’.
Compounds
C1. General attributive in sense 2c.
a.
governess trade n.
ΚΠ
1816 J. Austen Emma II. xvii. 324 ‘I was not thinking of the slave-trade,’ replied Jane; ‘governess-trade, I assure you, was all that I had in view; widely different certainly as to the guilt of those who carry it on; but as to the greater misery of the victims, I do not know where it lies.’ View more context for this quotation
2011 M. Neville Amorous Educ. Celia Seaton 306 The thought of returning to the governess trade held no appeal, and marriage to another even less.
b. Appositive.
governess-instructor n. rare
ΚΠ
1909 Westm. Gaz. 5 July 5/2 The governess-instructor stood at the right and the nursery-governess at the left.
c. Instrumental.
governess-made adj. now rare
ΚΠ
1902 J. Creelman Eagle Blood v. 127 Her knowledge and cultivation amazed the young aristocrat, accustomed to the governess-made misses of England.
1934 H. G. Wells Exper. in Autobiogr. II. ix. 769 I have already said that Tyrell's mind was governess-made.
governess-moulded adj. rare
ΚΠ
1934 H. G. Wells Exper. in Autobiogr. II. ix. 771 Another of these governess-moulded minds.
governess-taught adj.
ΚΠ
1850 ‘N. Dalrymple’ Norah Dalrymple I. iv. 123 She is..full of contradictions—Scotch simplicity and truth, tacked on to English school-girl mannerism, together with a shade of governess-taught affectation.
1906 Westm. Gaz. 28 Aug. 2/1 That governess-taught conception of the classics.
1996 S. Mitchell Daily Life in Victorian Eng. 180 One governess-taught child wrote down her daily schedule at age eight: piano practice, breakfast, copy books, arithmetic.
governess-trained adj.
ΚΠ
1934 H. G. Wells Exper. in Autobiogr. II. ix. 772 I declare that the greatest present dangers to the human race are those governess-trained brains which apparently monopolize the Foreign Offices of the world.
2002 T. Grant Daughter of Game v. 70 Beneath the hoarse voice was an echo of governess-trained manners.
C2. † governess-tongue n. Obsolete language as taught by a governess; standard speech, lacking any distinctive characteristics.Apparently an isolated use.
governess car n. now historical a lightweight two-wheeled carriage, with seats positioned along the two sides, designed to be drawn by a donkey or pony, and typically used by children for short recreational rides.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > carriage for conveying persons > [noun] > types of carriage > with seats facing each other > two-wheeled
tub-gig1836
governess car1883
governess cart1884
tub-cart1906
1883 Morning Post 3 Feb. 5/6 Messrs. H. Mulliner and Co. show a novelty described as a ‘governess car’—a cheap but neat little carriage for children's use, without any danger of their falling out, and designed to be driven with either a donkey or a pony.
1893 Chicago Exhib., Catal. Brit. Section 171 The ‘Governess Car’—a small wagonette body, without boot, hung—on elliptic springs, and with a deep cranked axle—very near the ground, and used either with a donkey or very small pony.
2001 R. Belben Hound Music (2002) 223 Papa, however, might not have driven his children in a governess car to Folly Ash.
governess cart n. now historical = governess car n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > carriage for conveying persons > [noun] > types of carriage > with seats facing each other > two-wheeled
tub-gig1836
governess car1883
governess cart1884
tub-cart1906
1884 Liverpool Mercury 7 Mar. 3/2 (advt.) On Sale, a small Pony Governess Cart; well suited for children.
1892 E. Somerville & V. Martin (title) Through Connemara in a governess cart.
1997 T. Broughton & R. Symes Governess ii. 44 Towards the end of the century, wealthy families even provided special transport for the governess and her pupils, such as a specially-designed carriage or ‘governess cart’.
governess-pupil n. a female pupil who spends part of her time teaching, as preparation for becoming a governess; cf. pupil teacher n. 2.
ΚΠ
1819 Morning Post 5 Feb. 1/3 (advt.) Two Governess Pupils are received into the Establishment, who acquire a superior method of teaching, and are recommended to situations on finishing their education.
1883 Times 22 Jan. 15 To clergymen, professionals, &c.—Governess pupil required, for high-class school.
1993 K. Hughes Victorian Governess viii. 179 A period of apprenticeship as a governess-pupil at a small proprietary school.
governess-student n. rare = governess-pupil n.
ΚΠ
1850 Daily News 1 Jan. 1/4 (advt.) Governess students for normal training and teaching pay an annual fee of 20 guineas.
1917 Jrnl. Educ. 49 50 (advt.) Governess-Student required in good school, to help with Junior Preparation given for Examinations.
ΚΠ
1892 T. Hardy Pursuit Well-beloved iii. in Illustr. London News 22 Oct. 426 He observed that every aim of those who had brought her up had been to teach her to forget all the experiences of her ancestors; to drown the local ballads by songs purchased at the Budmouth fashionable music sellers', and the local vocabulary by a governess-tongue of no country at all.
Derivatives
ˈgoverness-less adj. without a governess.
ΚΠ
1859 E. A. Freeman in W. R. W. Stephens Life & Lett. E. A. Freeman (1895) I. 245 I am still houseless, as well as boroughless, and am soon going to be governessless.
2009 A. Grange Mr. Darcy, Vampyre iv. 59 Elizabeth's education, governess-less though it had been, was sufficient to tell her that he meant the French kings and queens of centuries gone by.
ˈgoverness-like adj. resembling or characteristic of (that of) a governess; cf. governessy adj.
ΚΠ
1840 T. Gordon tr. W. Menzel German Lit. I. 240 Keep but the Ten Commandments, and you will not require this prudish, would-be-wise, governess-like twaddle about morality.
1844 H. M. Smythies Jilt I. x. 127 With this fine governess-like peroration, the lady glided off.
1928 Manch. Guardian Weekly 10 Aug. 114/1 Some of them—and this applies chiefly to..the calfas and elderly governess-like slaves—are gradually selling off the treasures that their sojourn in the Palace brought to them.
2007 S. Jordan Too Wicked to Tame 158 ‘Now,’ she began in a very governesslike tone, ‘do you want my help finding the book?’
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
governessv.
/ˈɡʌvn̩ᵻs/, /ˈɡʌvn̩ɛs/, U.S. /ˈɡəvərnəs/ Chiefly historical in later use.
transitive. To supervise or teach (a child or young person) as a governess (governess n. 2); to act as governess to. Also intransitive: to hold the position or perform the role of governess.Frequently with negative connotations, esp. when used in passive: see governessy adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > teaching > systematic or formal teaching > [verb (transitive)] > teach as governess
governess1845
1845 ‘T. Dornay’ La Soubrette iv. 83 I then ventured to remonstrate, when [i.e. whereupon] the boy told me he was not to be ‘governessed’, and the girl sulkily pursued her horrid amusement.
1847 C. M. Yonge Scenes & Characters xiii. 162 She has been governessed and crammed till she is half sick of all reading!
1852 Tait's Edinb. Mag. 19 346 Esther yet remains single, and governesses her brother's rising family.
1855 ‘A. Owen’ Lost Love 85 The girls had been governessed and repressed to the last pitch of human endurance.
1860 G. A. Sala Lady Chesterfield's Lett. 43 The girls had to go out governessing.
1917 M. R. Rinehart Bab v. 284 There isn't much left of the way God made a girl, by the time she's been curled and dressed and governessed for years.
1932 P. Bentley Inheritance iv. ii. 363 She superintended the household..and governessed four children to admiration.
1998 Independent (Nexis) 26 Apr. (Features) 34 Durrell grew up in various parts of India and Burma, [was] ayah'd and governessed at first, then schooled at Darjeeling.
2003 J. T. Censer Reconstr. White Southern Womanhood, 1865–95 176 After a childhood in Fauquier County, Irene Leache had governessed and taught in West Virginia to support her younger siblings.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.c1450
v.1845