housemistress
- noun
- /ˈhaʊsˌmɪstrəs/
- UK
:
jefa de casa
- Every evening, the housemistress held a meeting to discuss the students' needs and plan for upcoming events.
Examples
-
This is a space presided over not by the benevolent, godlike housemistress but by the benignly indifferent Cheshire Cat, under whose aegis all the boundaries of domestic or civilized life dissolve.
Academic text (1997) -
The difference between the housemistress and the cat: both are in haste to eradicate the mice from the dwelling.
Academic text (1997) -
The housemistress was glowering into the semidark room, her eyes lighting unpleasantly when they fell upon Gwynet.
Fiction book (1992) -
The housemistress ensured that all students followed the rules and felt supported during their time at school.
-
As the housemistress, she organized activities to foster a sense of community among the residents.
Synonyms
2
6.1
A woman who cares for and helps people living together, like in a dormitory
1
7.7
A male teacher who cares for students living at school
A man who cares for children at a boarding school or orphanage
How Responsible
14
3.9
- UK
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word housemistress is simply house + mistress, and mistress originally meant 'female head' — the woman who managed a home, like the female form of master. So a housemistress is the woman in charge of a boarding house or school who looks after students' daily life and discipline.