maid of honourmaid of honorn.
/ˌmeɪd əv ˈɒnə/, U.S. /ˈˌmeɪd əv ˈɑnər/ 1.
a. An unmarried woman, usually of noble birth, who attends upon a queen or princess.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > attendant or personal servant > [noun] > lord-in-waiting > lady-in-waiting or maid of honour
maiden of honoura1450
gentlewomana1470
lady of presence1530
maid of honourc1595
lady of honour1631
lady-in-waiting1703
duenna1761
dame d'honneur1805
c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme xlv. 54 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 40 Hir maides of honor shall on hir attend.
1646 R. Crashaw Sospetto d'Herode xlii, in Steps to Temple 65 The foule Queens most abhorred Maids of Honour..stand to wait upon her.
1692 T. D'Urfey Marriage-hater Match'd i. i. 8 I was afraid it might have bin one of the Maids of Honour, and then my Son had bin ruin'd for ever.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 109. ⁋4 The Action at the Tilt-yard you may be sure won the fair Lady, who was a Maid of Honour.
1757 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. IV. 31 Another court-festivity is at the marriage of one of the empress's maids of honour.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Day-dream in Poems (new ed.) II. 150 The maid-of-honour blooming fair.
1889 ‘M. Twain’ Connecticut Yankee xi. 137 A maid of honour gave me the stirrup-cup.
1904 M. Hewlett Queen's Quair i. viii. 117 You are too masterful, my girl... I do not choose to be mistressed by a maid of honour.
1934 W. Lewis Men without Art ii. iii. 136 Their Arthuriads..convert the Grail into a pot de chambre—not of the Maids of Honour, but of the small house-drudge.
1980 Notes & Queries Apr. 113/2 She was later a maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth.
b. Chiefly North American. The principal unmarried female attendant on the bride at a wedding; a bridesmaid. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > wedding or nuptials > people connected with wedding > [noun] > attendant > bridesmaid
waiter1537
bridesmaid1552
bridesmaiden1634
bridewoman1649
best maid1766
maid of honour1895
bridesgirl1905
1895 I. K. Funk et al. Standard Dict. Eng. Lang. II. Maid of honour.
1906 M. E. Freeman By Light of Soul 348 Lily asked Maria to be her maid of honor. She planned to be married in church.
1911 H. S. Harrison Queed xxi. 267 A victoria containing two lovely young girls sponsor and maid of honor for South Carolina.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xii. [Cyclops] 313 The maids of honour,..sisters of the bride, wore very becoming costumes.
1974 ‘R. B. Dominic’ Epitaph for Lobbyist x. 90 The maid of honour and the bridesmaids passed by...Betty Jo appeared on the arm of her father..floating in a cloud of white.
1991 N. Amer. Rev. Mar. 46/2 Bridesmaids in blood-red velour, the maid-of-honor in green.
2. A kind of cheesecake or small (usually custard) tart, usually flavoured with almonds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > cake > [noun] > a cake > cheese-cake
cheesecake1440
resbon1587
talmouse1600
rattoon1656
curd cake1675
lemon-cheesecake1728
maid of honour1769
flamm1819
1769 Public Advertiser 11 Mar. 3/3 Almond and Lemon Cheescakes, Maid of Honour, Sweetmeat Tarts.
1836 T. Hook Gilbert Gurney I. 110 What are called cheesecakes elsewhere, are here called maids of honour.
1865 Reader 16 Sept. 311/2 A maid-of-honour, fresh from the cuisine of the Star and Garter, is relishable with its adjuncts.
1900 J. K. Jerome Three Men on Bummel i. 2 She takes him inside and buys him cream buns and ‘maids-of-honour’.
1942 M. B. Lowndes Let. 19 Nov. (1971) 235 There were lobster patties, and queer looking Maid of Honour cakes.
1966 J. Dos Passos Best Times (1968) i. 11 I had so many little cheesecakes called Maids of Honor that I felt a bit sick.
1982 R. Davies High Spirits v. 48 Before us was spread a profusion of partridges, wild duck, maids-of-honor, stuffed monkeys.
Derivatives
maid-of-ˈhonourship n. Apparently an isolated use.
ΚΠ
1896 A. Dobson in Longman's Mag. Sept. 456 Her Maid-of-Honourship came to an end with her marriage.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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