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cabin girl

cabin girl

8.1
A young woman who works as a helper on a ship in passengers' or officers' cabins
  • noun
  • /ˈkæbɪn ɡɜrl/
  • Archaic
translation icon : gobernanta
  • As a cabin girl, she helped the officers with their meals and kept the quarters tidy.

Examples

  • But Dad took me on as a cabin girl, saying I should learn the trade.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Little sister Evie was the cabin girl.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • The ship's cabin girl ensured that all passengers received their requested items promptly.

  • Everyone admired the young cabin girl for her hard work and cheerful attitude during the voyage.

Synonyms

chambermaid
vscabin girl
11 5.3

A hotel worker who cleans and tidies guest bedrooms

works on ships helping passenger or officer rooms rather than cleaning hotels
servant girl
vscabin girl
  • Archaic
7 3.5

A young woman who works in a house to help with chores

works on ships helping passenger or officer rooms rather than in homes
serving girl
vscabin girl
  • Archaic
1 5.1

A girl or young woman who works in a home doing chores

works on ships helping passenger or officer rooms rather than in homes
crewwoman
vscabin girl
4.8

A woman who works with others on a ship, plane, or film set

serves specifically on ships helping passenger or officer rooms

Surface Forms

cabin girl singular
cabin girls plural

Morphology

cabin + girl

The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'cabin' (an enclosed room on a ship) with 'girl' (a young woman), yielding a female associated with work or duties in a ship's cabin. This is a straightforward compositional noun phrase following common English compounding patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

The phrase cabin girl comes from life on old ships. A cabin was the small room for passengers or officers and a girl was a young woman who cleaned and served there, so the term came to mean 'a young woman who works as a servant on a ship'.