matronhoodn.
/ˈmeɪtr(ə)nhʊd/, U.S. /ˈmeɪtrənˌhʊd/ The fact or condition of being a matron; matrons collectively.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > married person > married woman > [noun] > condition or position of
coverture1542
under covert1563
under covert-baron1581
matronage?1585
matronship1831
matronhood1836
1836 C. G. F. Gore Mrs. Armytage I. 142 Had not matronhood and maternity chanced to recall her to the softer duties of her sex.
1868 M. Collins Sweet Anne Page III. 271 A very dainty presentment of matronhood.
1912 Chambers's Jrnl. Aug. 549/2 Lady Hind, with a stony glare of outraged matronhood.
1983 N.Y. Times 3 Apr. vii. 9/2 Nearing forty, Elizabeth had left young womanhood behind without entering respectable matronhood as a married woman.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1836