Skip to main content
housemother

housemother

2 6.1
A woman who cares for and helps people living together, like in a dormitory
  • noun
  • /ˈhaʊsˌmʌðər/
  • US
translation icon : madre de casa
  • Soon after this, my mother got what she thought was a wonderful offer: she would be a housemother at the school for the blind.
  • Mrs. housemother

Examples

Synonyms

den mother
vshousemother
  • US
2 6.7

A woman who looks after and supports a group of children or young people

is focused on residential community care and formal supervision rather than just group caretaking
housemistress
vshousemother
  • UK
7.7

A woman who looks after students and keeps order in a boarding house

is more about nurturing and mentoring within close community living
housefather
vshousemother
7.8

A man who cares for children at a boarding school or orphanage

is the female equivalent who also mentors and supports close community living

How Caring

housemother
  • US
2 6.1
matron
  • UK
15 6.3
resident
  • Specialized
220 5.7
caretaker
60 1.9

Surface Forms

housemother singular
housemothers plural

Morphology

housemother = house + mother (transparent) = house + mother

The meaning follows directly from 'house' + 'mother' (a woman acting as a mother/guardian of a household or communal group).

Etymology

Housemother comes from the simple combination of house and mother, meaning a 'mother of the house' who cares for the people who live there. So a housemother is a woman who looks after, guides, and supervises members of a shared home or dormitory.