matronn.adj.

Brit.

/ˈmeɪtr(ə)n/, U.S.

/ˈmeɪtrən/

Forms: Middle English matroun, Middle English–1600s matrone, 1500s– matron.

Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French matrone.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman matrone matron, married woman (c1240), Middle French matrone married woman (c1223 in Old French), (Roman) matron (mid 14th cent.), midwife (14th cent. as mathronne ) < classical Latin mātrōna matron, married woman, wife < mātr- , māter mother (see matri- comb. form) + -ōna , after patrōnus patron n. Compare Italian matrona (14th cent.), Spanish matrona (1438), Portuguese matrona (16th cent.).

A. n.

a. Originally: a married woman, esp. one of mature years (usually with connotation of dignity, propriety, and moral or social rank). In later use also: a woman having the characters (esp. of build and disposition) usually associated with the mother of a large family, or a matriarch.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > married person > married woman > [noun]

damec1330

matrona1393

feme sole1600

feme covert1602

lucky1629

ma'am1765

marm1865

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. 1657 (MED) Whan that this Matrone herde The manere how this knyht ansuerde, [etc.].

a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) ii. 2199 (MED) Noble matrones, which han al suffisaunce Off womanhed..ay prouideth..That no such foly entre your corage To folwe Dido.

Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 330 Matrone, eld woman, matrona.

c1480 (a1400) SS. Cosmas & Damian 35 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 293 In þat cyte wes a matrone, þat of gret gudnes had renon.

c1500 (?a1475) Assembly of Gods (1896) 910 (MED) Vyrgyns pure, and also innocentes, Hooly matronys with chaste contynentes.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VII f. xx^v She was layed naked in the bride bed, in the presence of diuerse noble matrones and Prynces.

1576 A. Fleming Panoplie Epist. Epitome sig.Aij^v His grandmother a sober matrone and vertuous old maddame.

1604 Wit of Woman sig. F4 If..wee looke soberly, and so seeme twentie yeares elder then wee would bee, to counterfeit the young matron, it goes against the woll howsoeuer wee weare the cloth.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) ii. i. 260 Matrons flong Gloues, Ladies and Maids their Scarffes, and Handkerchers, Vpon him as he pass'd.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 136 Leucothea..when Adam and first Matron Eve Had ended now thir Orisons.

1706 E. Ward Hudibras Redivivus II. iii. 9 Therefore 'tis said by wise old Matrons, Most Nurses will be nasty Slatterns.

1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield II. xiii. 221 The question was whether my eldest daughter, as being a matron, should not sit above the two young brides.

1803 J. Boaden Voice of Nature ii. i. 15 She lives in a distant village with a good old matron, who was her nurse.

1841 Ladies' Repository Apr. 100/1 May it be yours to imitate the example and imbibe the spirit of such American matrons!

1867 A. Trollope Last Chron. Barset I. xxiv. 208 She was fat, heavy, and good-looking;..a youthful British matron every inch of her.

1905 N.E.D. (at cited word) British matron: in recent use, jocularly taken as the representative of certain social prejudices and rigorous notions of conventional propriety supposed to be characteristic of married women of the English upper middle-class.

1938 R. K. Narayan Dark Room iv. 35 She would grow into a bulky matron.

1981 Time 16 Nov. 135/1 Liz..toiled briefly as a plump Washington matron, shed 40 lbs. and then made her triumphant Broadway debut.

b. Christian Church. A married female saint. Cf. virgin n. 1b. Now archaic and rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > aspects of faith > holiness > saint > [noun] > female > married

matrona1450

a1450 Pater Noster Richard Ermyte (Westm. Sch. 3) (1967) 34 Sum day steiȝe to eche þat noumbre elleuen þousande of virgynes & matrones.

1519 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 96 In honor of God and the glorious matron Sanct Anne.

1571 in S. H. Sole Jesu's Psalter (1888) 84 Virgynes, wyddowes, matrons.

1862 C. Wordsworth Hark, the Sound of Holy Voices (hymn) ii Saintly Maiden, godly Matron, Widows who have watch'd to prayer.

c. In personifications.

ΚΠ

a1586 Sir P. Sidney Apol. Poetrie (1595) sig. K4 So is that honny-flowing Matron Eloquence..disguised, in a Curtizan-like painted affectation.

1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet iii. ii. 11 Come ciuill night, Thou sober suted matron all in blacke.

1992 Atlantic Apr. 49/2 I bring you the stately matron called Christendom.

†d. Chiefly Scottish. A married woman acting as a chaperone to one or more younger, unmarried women. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1822 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 12 69 Chaperoning matrons talk right solemnly of heat.

c1855 S. Sibbald Mem. (1926) xix. 205 I went to the George street Assembly one night, Lady Buchan being my Matron.

1859 De Bow's Rev. Apr. 406 The exuberant matron who chaperones the belles in the matrimonial market.

e. matron of honour n. a married woman who attends the bride at a wedding; (chiefly North American) spec. a chief bridesmaid (later often used irrespective of marital status). Cf. maid of honour n. 1b.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > wedding or nuptials > people connected with wedding > [noun] > attendant > bridesmaid > married

matron of honour1903

1903 N.Y. Tribune 20 Sept. Her only attendant, as matron of honor, wore pale blue crepe de chine.

1948 Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City) 9 June 13/3 The bride and I wonder whether I should be called matron of honor or maid of honor.

1963 Listener 14 Mar. 473/3 The groom's brother..has to listen to the indignant and delightfully comic complaints of the matron-of-honour.

1979 Southern Star (County Cork, Ireland) 29 Sept. 3/2 Matrons of honour were Mrs. Carmel O'Connor (sister of the bride) and Mrs. Eileen O'Donovan (sister-in-law of the bride).

1991 H. J. Rosta in D. Bailey & D. Unruh Great Canad. Murder & Myst. Stories 47 The next thing we knew, the church was booked. Edith..asked me right off to be Matron of Honor.

2. A married woman regarded as having expert knowledge in matters of childbirth, pregnancy, etc., and who therefore may be called upon (as in quot. a1492) to act as a midwife. Now only in jury of matrons n. at jury n. 2f.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > healing > healer > one skilled in obstetrics or midwifery > [noun]

midwifec1300

childwifea1387

midwomana1400

Lucinac1405

matron?a1425

grace-wifec1600

Mother Midnight1602

headswoman1615

handwoman1637

sage woman1672

howdie1725

accoucheur1727

granny1738

obstetrix1773

accoucheuse1795

dukun1817

fingersmith1819

wise woman1821

obstetrician1826

obstetrist1873

tocologist1902

birth attendant1910

S.C.M.1935

monitrice1969

society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > married person > married woman > [noun] > as expert on pregnancy

matron?a1425

?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 150^v (MED) Afterward haue he a matrone, i. a huswife vsed in sich þingez, And commaund he þat þai lie togider by som certane daiez, þe selfe matrone beyng present.

a1492 W. Caxton tr. Vitas Patrum (1495) ii. f. clxxxxvii^v/2 The matrones or myddewyfes that were come to her for to receyue the childe.

1645 J. Milton Epit. Marchioness of Winchester in Poems 24 Once had the early Matrons run To greet her of a lovely son.

1650 A. Weldon Court & Char. King James 79 A Jury of grave Matrons..after their inspection gave verdict, she was (intacta virgo).

a. Originally: a woman in charge of the domestic arrangements of a charitable institution. Later: a woman or (occasionally) a man in charge of the nurses in a hospital (now also called senior nursing officer); a woman managing domestic arrangements, esp. the care of the sick, in a school, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > healing > healer > non-medical worker > [noun] > hospital administrator

hospitaller1552

matron1612

house governor1787

society > authority > control > person in control > [noun] > manager or administrator > female > of public institution

matron1612

matrona1612

1612 J. Webster White Divel sig. G2^v Beare this To th'house of Conuertites; and watch your leisure To giue it to the hands of Corombona, Or to the Matron.

1690–1700 Order of Hospitalls sig. Eii^v The Matron, in governinge the wemen, and keping the provision of Bedds, Sheets, Shirts and other committed to her charge.

1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Matron... Also one of the grave Women that have the Oversight of Children in an Hospital.

1780 S. Johnson Let. 30 Dec. (1992) III. 321 The Matron of the Chartreux is about to resign her place.

1791 J. Bentham Panopticon i. Postscr. 43 There must be a Chaplain, a Surgeon, and a Matron.

1801 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 5 291 The servants of the House shall consist of a Matron, who shall superintend the domestic concerns; three ordinary nurses [etc.].

1858 J. H. Green Reformed Gambler 70 I was introduced to Miss Foster, the matron of the prison, who..expressed great surprise at my arrest.

1896 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. I. 424 This power [of moving probationers] should be vested in the matron, herself a trained nurse.

1969 Daily Tel. 5 Nov. 2/2 The Royal Marsden Hospital, Chelsea, is the first London Teaching Hospital to appoint a man as matron.

1981 W. Russell Educating Rita i. ii. 11 I always thought they sounded great, schools like that, y' know with a tuck-shop an' a matron an' prep.

b. Originally and chiefly U.S. A female prison officer. Cf. police matron n. at police n. Compounds 3.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prisoner > [noun] > jailer > female

jaileress1747

wardress1878

matron1931

1931 Amer. Mercury Apr. 392/2 A large slate, hung on her by the matron, showed her name, age, crime, sentence, and nativity.

1950 Collier's 3 June 37/2 The prison superintendent told me that, of her staff of 60 matrons, there were only five whom she trusted.

1970 Notes for Guidance of Inmates (Arohata (N.Z.) Borstal Inst.) 6 Matrons are responsible to the superintendent for the overall control of the institution.

1999 Santa Fe New Mexican 20 Aug. p73 The girls are..sentenced to spend 33 years in a grim Thai prison... They endure kangaroo judges, pernicious cops..and stern prison matrons.

c. Usually in form Matron. Used without article to denote the matron of a particular institution. Also used as a form of address.

ΚΠ

1934 P. Bottome Private Worlds xxxi. 302 I'm speaking to matron. She has volunteered to look after Mrs. Macgregor.

1962 E. Grierson Massingham Affair v. i. 245 She's..a bit starkers, poor soul, and driving Matron..up the wall.

1964 G. L. Cohen What's Wrong with Hospitals? iii. 47 Matron will hand complaints to the Catering Officer, who refers to the House Governor, who sends a memo to the management committee.

1991 New Musical Express 7 Dec. 9/3 Russell from Chapterhouse tried to get out of it, producing a note from Matron saying he was tired from hoisting the pocket flag the night before.

4. A female dog or horse used for breeding.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > dog > [noun] > female

bitchOE

bick1440

doggess1748

slut1811

matron1931

the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > horse defined by gender or age > [noun] > female > mare > used for breeding

stud mareeOE

stud?a1500

steid-meir1582

brood-mare1792

matron1931

1931 A. C. Smith About our Dogs vi. 67 When the matrons have been purchased..the question of finding mates for them is uppermost.

1966 Telegraph (Brisbane) 22 Jan. 5/1 King's Daughter could have been an above average stud matron.

1971 Country Life 11 Nov. 1267/1 The breeding of hounds ought not to be merely a question of appearance and dash... They should also be the offspring of stallions and matrons of time-honoured residence in the kennels.

1987 Stock & Land (Melbourne) 12 Mar. 22/4 An outstanding matron went at $6000 to Reewah Stud, Perth, WA, which took several top females.

B. adj. (attributive).

Chiefly poetic. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a matron; matronly. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > married person > married woman > [adjective] > characteristic of

matron1667

matronal1748

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 501 He..press'd her Matron lip With kisses pure.

1718 N. Rowe tr. Lucan Pharsalia i. 353 Her awful head Rome's rev'rend image rear'd, Trembling and sad the Matron form appear'd.

1725 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey I. i. 534 When the Star of Eve, with golden light Adorn'd the matron-brow of sable Night.

1775 S. J. Pratt Liberal Opinions (1783) I. xxxviii. 223 The dear furrows of her matron face.

1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 246 With matron step slow moving.

1791 J. West Misc. Poems 50 My matron cares do these thy pity move, As did the anguish of my childish years?

1810 S. Green Reformist II. 7 The wanton wife, whose matron years and situation should teach her gravity.

1813 P. B. Shelley Queen Mab viii. 104 Autumn proudly bears her matron grace.

c1820 S. Rogers Italy (1839) 29 Young as she was, she wore the matron-cap.

a1863 W. J. Grayson Sel. Poems (1907) 17 I see thee at the board preside, Still ready and with matron pride Alert and skilful to provide Its choicest fare.

1896 M. J. Cawein Garden of Dreams 110 With matron eyes and holy Peace..Spake, smiling, of the lowly.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	matron
释义	matronn.adj. Brit. /ˈmeɪtr(ə)n/, U.S. /ˈmeɪtrən/ Forms: Middle English matroun, Middle English–1600s matrone, 1500s– matron. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French matrone. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman matrone matron, married woman (c1240), Middle French matrone married woman (c1223 in Old French), (Roman) matron (mid 14th cent.), midwife (14th cent. as mathronne ) < classical Latin mātrōna matron, married woman, wife < mātr- , māter mother (see matri- comb. form) + -ōna , after patrōnus patron n. Compare Italian matrona (14th cent.), Spanish matrona (1438), Portuguese matrona (16th cent.). A. n. 1. a. Originally: a married woman, esp. one of mature years (usually with connotation of dignity, propriety, and moral or social rank). In later use also: a woman having the characters (esp. of build and disposition) usually associated with the mother of a large family, or a matriarch. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > married person > married woman > [noun] damec1330 matrona1393 feme sole1600 feme covert1602 lucky1629 ma'am1765 marm1865 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. 1657 (MED) Whan that this Matrone herde The manere how this knyht ansuerde, [etc.]. a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) ii. 2199 (MED) Noble matrones, which han al suffisaunce Off womanhed..ay prouideth..That no such foly entre your corage To folwe Dido. Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 330 Matrone, eld woman, matrona. c1480 (a1400) SS. Cosmas & Damian 35 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 293 In þat cyte wes a matrone, þat of gret gudnes had renon. c1500 (?a1475) Assembly of Gods (1896) 910 (MED) Vyrgyns pure, and also innocentes, Hooly matronys with chaste contynentes. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VII f. xx^v She was layed naked in the bride bed, in the presence of diuerse noble matrones and Prynces. 1576 A. Fleming Panoplie Epist. Epitome sig.Aij^v His grandmother a sober matrone and vertuous old maddame. 1604 Wit of Woman sig. F4 If..wee looke soberly, and so seeme twentie yeares elder then wee would bee, to counterfeit the young matron, it goes against the woll howsoeuer wee weare the cloth. a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) ii. i. 260 Matrons flong Gloues, Ladies and Maids their Scarffes, and Handkerchers, Vpon him as he pass'd. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 136 Leucothea..when Adam and first Matron Eve Had ended now thir Orisons. View more context for this quotation 1706 E. Ward Hudibras Redivivus II. iii. 9 Therefore 'tis said by wise old Matrons, Most Nurses will be nasty Slatterns. 1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield II. xiii. 221 The question was whether my eldest daughter, as being a matron, should not sit above the two young brides. 1803 J. Boaden Voice of Nature ii. i. 15 She lives in a distant village with a good old matron, who was her nurse. 1841 Ladies' Repository Apr. 100/1 May it be yours to imitate the example and imbibe the spirit of such American matrons! 1867 A. Trollope Last Chron. Barset I. xxiv. 208 She was fat, heavy, and good-looking;..a youthful British matron every inch of her. 1905 N.E.D. (at cited word) British matron: in recent use, jocularly taken as the representative of certain social prejudices and rigorous notions of conventional propriety supposed to be characteristic of married women of the English upper middle-class. 1938 R. K. Narayan Dark Room iv. 35 She would grow into a bulky matron. 1981 Time 16 Nov. 135/1 Liz..toiled briefly as a plump Washington matron, shed 40 lbs. and then made her triumphant Broadway debut. b. Christian Church. A married female saint. Cf. virgin n. 1b. Now archaic and rare. ΘΚΠ society > faith > aspects of faith > holiness > saint > [noun] > female > married matrona1450 a1450 Pater Noster Richard Ermyte (Westm. Sch. 3) (1967) 34 Sum day steiȝe to eche þat noumbre elleuen þousande of virgynes & matrones. 1519 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 96 In honor of God and the glorious matron Sanct Anne. 1571 in S. H. Sole Jesu's Psalter (1888) 84 Virgynes, wyddowes, matrons. 1862 C. Wordsworth Hark, the Sound of Holy Voices (hymn) ii Saintly Maiden, godly Matron, Widows who have watch'd to prayer. c. In personifications. ΚΠ a1586 Sir P. Sidney Apol. Poetrie (1595) sig. K4 So is that honny-flowing Matron Eloquence..disguised, in a Curtizan-like painted affectation. 1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet iii. ii. 11 Come ciuill night, Thou sober suted matron all in blacke. View more context for this quotation 1992 Atlantic Apr. 49/2 I bring you the stately matron called Christendom. †d. Chiefly Scottish. A married woman acting as a chaperone to one or more younger, unmarried women. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1822 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 12 69 Chaperoning matrons talk right solemnly of heat. c1855 S. Sibbald Mem. (1926) xix. 205 I went to the George street Assembly one night, Lady Buchan being my Matron. 1859 De Bow's Rev. Apr. 406 The exuberant matron who chaperones the belles in the matrimonial market. e. matron of honour n. a married woman who attends the bride at a wedding; (chiefly North American) spec. a chief bridesmaid (later often used irrespective of marital status). Cf. maid of honour n. 1b. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > wedding or nuptials > people connected with wedding > [noun] > attendant > bridesmaid > married matron of honour1903 1903 N.Y. Tribune 20 Sept. Her only attendant, as matron of honor, wore pale blue crepe de chine. 1948 Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City) 9 June 13/3 The bride and I wonder whether I should be called matron of honor or maid of honor. 1963 Listener 14 Mar. 473/3 The groom's brother..has to listen to the indignant and delightfully comic complaints of the matron-of-honour. 1979 Southern Star (County Cork, Ireland) 29 Sept. 3/2 Matrons of honour were Mrs. Carmel O'Connor (sister of the bride) and Mrs. Eileen O'Donovan (sister-in-law of the bride). 1991 H. J. Rosta in D. Bailey & D. Unruh Great Canad. Murder & Myst. Stories 47 The next thing we knew, the church was booked. Edith..asked me right off to be Matron of Honor. 2. A married woman regarded as having expert knowledge in matters of childbirth, pregnancy, etc., and who therefore may be called upon (as in quot. a1492) to act as a midwife. Now only in jury of matrons n. at jury n. 2f. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > healer > one skilled in obstetrics or midwifery > [noun] midwifec1300 childwifea1387 midwomana1400 Lucinac1405 matron?a1425 grace-wifec1600 Mother Midnight1602 headswoman1615 handwoman1637 sage woman1672 howdie1725 accoucheur1727 granny1738 obstetrix1773 accoucheuse1795 dukun1817 fingersmith1819 wise woman1821 obstetrician1826 obstetrist1873 tocologist1902 birth attendant1910 S.C.M.1935 monitrice1969 society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > married person > married woman > [noun] > as expert on pregnancy matron?a1425 ?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 150^v (MED) Afterward haue he a matrone, i. a huswife vsed in sich þingez, And commaund he þat þai lie togider by som certane daiez, þe selfe matrone beyng present. a1492 W. Caxton tr. Vitas Patrum (1495) ii. f. clxxxxvii^v/2 The matrones or myddewyfes that were come to her for to receyue the childe. 1645 J. Milton Epit. Marchioness of Winchester in Poems 24 Once had the early Matrons run To greet her of a lovely son. 1650 A. Weldon Court & Char. King James 79 A Jury of grave Matrons..after their inspection gave verdict, she was (intacta virgo). 3. a. Originally: a woman in charge of the domestic arrangements of a charitable institution. Later: a woman or (occasionally) a man in charge of the nurses in a hospital (now also called senior nursing officer); a woman managing domestic arrangements, esp. the care of the sick, in a school, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > healer > non-medical worker > [noun] > hospital administrator hospitaller1552 matron1612 house governor1787 society > authority > control > person in control > [noun] > manager or administrator > female > of public institution matron1612 matrona1612 1612 J. Webster White Divel sig. G2^v Beare this To th'house of Conuertites; and watch your leisure To giue it to the hands of Corombona, Or to the Matron. 1690–1700 Order of Hospitalls sig. Eii^v The Matron, in governinge the wemen, and keping the provision of Bedds, Sheets, Shirts and other committed to her charge. 1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Matron... Also one of the grave Women that have the Oversight of Children in an Hospital. 1780 S. Johnson Let. 30 Dec. (1992) III. 321 The Matron of the Chartreux is about to resign her place. 1791 J. Bentham Panopticon i. Postscr. 43 There must be a Chaplain, a Surgeon, and a Matron. 1801 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 5 291 The servants of the House shall consist of a Matron, who shall superintend the domestic concerns; three ordinary nurses [etc.]. 1858 J. H. Green Reformed Gambler 70 I was introduced to Miss Foster, the matron of the prison, who..expressed great surprise at my arrest. 1896 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. I. 424 This power [of moving probationers] should be vested in the matron, herself a trained nurse. 1969 Daily Tel. 5 Nov. 2/2 The Royal Marsden Hospital, Chelsea, is the first London Teaching Hospital to appoint a man as matron. 1981 W. Russell Educating Rita i. ii. 11 I always thought they sounded great, schools like that, y' know with a tuck-shop an' a matron an' prep. b. Originally and chiefly U.S. A female prison officer. Cf. police matron n. at police n. Compounds 3. ΘΚΠ society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prisoner > [noun] > jailer > female jaileress1747 wardress1878 matron1931 1931 Amer. Mercury Apr. 392/2 A large slate, hung on her by the matron, showed her name, age, crime, sentence, and nativity. 1950 Collier's 3 June 37/2 The prison superintendent told me that, of her staff of 60 matrons, there were only five whom she trusted. 1970 Notes for Guidance of Inmates (Arohata (N.Z.) Borstal Inst.) 6 Matrons are responsible to the superintendent for the overall control of the institution. 1999 Santa Fe New Mexican 20 Aug. p73 The girls are..sentenced to spend 33 years in a grim Thai prison... They endure kangaroo judges, pernicious cops..and stern prison matrons. c. Usually in form Matron. Used without article to denote the matron of a particular institution. Also used as a form of address. ΚΠ 1934 P. Bottome Private Worlds xxxi. 302 I'm speaking to matron. She has volunteered to look after Mrs. Macgregor. 1962 E. Grierson Massingham Affair v. i. 245 She's..a bit starkers, poor soul, and driving Matron..up the wall. 1964 G. L. Cohen What's Wrong with Hospitals? iii. 47 Matron will hand complaints to the Catering Officer, who refers to the House Governor, who sends a memo to the management committee. 1991 New Musical Express 7 Dec. 9/3 Russell from Chapterhouse tried to get out of it, producing a note from Matron saying he was tired from hoisting the pocket flag the night before. 4. A female dog or horse used for breeding. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > dog > [noun] > female bitchOE bick1440 doggess1748 slut1811 matron1931 the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > horse defined by gender or age > [noun] > female > mare > used for breeding stud mareeOE stud?a1500 steid-meir1582 brood-mare1792 matron1931 1931 A. C. Smith About our Dogs vi. 67 When the matrons have been purchased..the question of finding mates for them is uppermost. 1966 Telegraph (Brisbane) 22 Jan. 5/1 King's Daughter could have been an above average stud matron. 1971 Country Life 11 Nov. 1267/1 The breeding of hounds ought not to be merely a question of appearance and dash... They should also be the offspring of stallions and matrons of time-honoured residence in the kennels. 1987 Stock & Land (Melbourne) 12 Mar. 22/4 An outstanding matron went at $6000 to Reewah Stud, Perth, WA, which took several top females. B. adj. (attributive). Chiefly poetic. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a matron; matronly. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > married person > married woman > [adjective] > characteristic of matron1667 matronal1748 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 501 He..press'd her Matron lip With kisses pure. View more context for this quotation 1718 N. Rowe tr. Lucan Pharsalia i. 353 Her awful head Rome's rev'rend image rear'd, Trembling and sad the Matron form appear'd. 1725 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey I. i. 534 When the Star of Eve, with golden light Adorn'd the matron-brow of sable Night. 1775 S. J. Pratt Liberal Opinions (1783) I. xxxviii. 223 The dear furrows of her matron face. 1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 246 With matron step slow moving. 1791 J. West Misc. Poems 50 My matron cares do these thy pity move, As did the anguish of my childish years? 1810 S. Green Reformist II. 7 The wanton wife, whose matron years and situation should teach her gravity. 1813 P. B. Shelley Queen Mab viii. 104 Autumn proudly bears her matron grace. c1820 S. Rogers Italy (1839) 29 Young as she was, she wore the matron-cap. a1863 W. J. Grayson Sel. Poems (1907) 17 I see thee at the board preside, Still ready and with matron pride Alert and skilful to provide Its choicest fare. 1896 M. J. Cawein Garden of Dreams 110 With matron eyes and holy Peace..Spake, smiling, of the lowly. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.adj.a1393
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