laundress
UK[ˈlɔːndrəs]US[ˈlɔːndrəs]
n
A woman whose job is to wash and iron clothes, sheets, and other fabrics.
Morpheme Breakdown
laund
ress
laund
to wash
ress
female suffix
Etymology
The word 'laundress' is a compound formed from the root 'laund', a now-obsolete English word for washing derived from the Old French term for a washerwoman. This Old French word itself evolved from the Latin verb lavare, meaning 'to wash'. The female agent suffix '-ress', of Latin and Greek ancestry, was appended to specify the gender of the person performing the task. Thus, the term's literal construction, 'a female washer', directly and logically describes the modern occupation of a woman employed to launder linen and clothing.
Analysis
Structure: laund (to wash) + ress (female suffix)
- laund: From Old French lavandiere, ultimately from Latin lavare (to wash). It is the root element denoting the action of washing.
- ress: A suffix of French origin (from Latin -issa, Greek -ισσα), used to form nouns denoting a female agent or performer of an action.
Examples
In the 19th century, a laundress would work long hours scrubbing clothes by hand.
She hired a reliable laundress to manage the household's extensive linens.
The novel's protagonist began her working life as a laundress in a grand hotel.