Governess
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A woman paid to educate children in their own home.
"[Mashenka Pavletsky] returning from a walk to the house of the Kushkins, with whom she was living as a governess, found the household in a terrible turmoil."
- 2 a woman entrusted with the care and supervision of a child (especially in a private home) wordnet
- 3 A female governor. dated
"“The Gates Ajar” seems to be the favorite song and inspiration of Ma Ferguson in her four years as governor. The lady governess pardoned criminals as soon as they were convicted and was so chronic in her actions that the courts had just about refused to function in convicting anyone."
- 4 The wife of a governor. dated
"The Lady Governeſs of the Town drew near to me; […]"
- 1 To work as governess; to educate children in their own home.
Example
More examples"Old rich families used to employ a governess to look after their children."
Etymology
From Middle English governesse, a contracted form of governeresse, from Old French governeresse (“female ruler or administrator”). In later senses, equivalent to govern(or) + -ess.
Related phrases
More for "governess"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.