batwoman

9.9

A woman in the army who helps an officer with personal and household tasks

noun
/ˈbætˌwʊmən/

Archaic

: batwoman

The duties of a batwoman included managing laundry and preparing uniforms.

Examples

During World War II, the officer relied heavily on his batwoman for daily assistance.
As a batwoman, she ensured the captain's quarters were always kept impeccably tidy.
The batwoman prepared the officer's meals.
Many batwomen worked tirelessly during the war.
As a batwoman, she ensured the captain's quarters were always kept impeccably tidy.
During World War II, the officer relied heavily on his batwoman for daily assistance.
The duties of a batwoman included managing laundry and preparing uniforms.

Synonyms

batman

vsbatwoman

Archaic

1 9.9

A male soldier who helps an officer with personal and household tasks

is the same position but designates a female servant

Surface Forms

batwoman singular

batwomen plural

Morphology

batwoman = bat + woman (opaque) = bat + woman

The word is historically built from the obscure military sense of bat- plus woman, so the meaning is not predictable from the modern familiar words alone.

Etymology

Batwoman comes from the old military term batman, not the comic hero, where the bat part meant 'pack' or 'kit' and a batman looked after an officer's things. So a batwoman was the woman who did an officer's personal and household tasks.