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Old maid   /oʊld meɪd/   Listen
noun
Maid  n.  
1.
An unmarried woman; usually, a young unmarried woman; esp., a girl; a virgin; a maiden. "Would I had died a maid, And never seen thee, never borne thee son." "Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me."
2.
A man who has not had sexual intercourse. (Obs.) "Christ was a maid and shapen as a man."
3.
A female servant. "Spinning amongst her maids." Note: Maid is used either adjectively or in composition, signifying female, as in maid child, maidservant.
4.
(Zool.) The female of a ray or skate, esp. of the gray skate (Raia batis), and of the thornback (Raia clavata). (Prov. Eng.)
Fair maid. (Zool.) See under Fair, a.
Maid of honor, a female attendant of a queen or royal princess; usually of noble family, and having to perform only nominal or honorary duties.
Old maid. See under Old.



adjective
Old  adj.  (compar. older; superl. oldest)  
1.
Not young; advanced far in years or life; having lived till toward the end of the ordinary term of living; as, an old man; an old age; an old horse; an old tree. "Let not old age disgrace my high desire." "The melancholy news that we grow old."
2.
Not new or fresh; not recently made or produced; having existed for a long time; as, old wine; an old friendship. "An old acquaintance."
3.
Formerly existing; ancient; not modern; preceding; original; as, an old law; an old custom; an old promise. "The old schools of Greece." "The character of the old Ligurians."
4.
Continued in life; advanced in the course of existence; having (a certain) length of existence; designating the age of a person or thing; as, an infant a few hours old; a cathedral centuries old. "And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?" Note: In this use old regularly follows the noun that designates the age; as, she was eight years old.
5.
Long practiced; hence, skilled; experienced; cunning; as, an old offender; old in vice. "Vane, young in years, but in sage counsel old."
6.
Long cultivated; as, an old farm; old land, as opposed to new land, that is, to land lately cleared.
7.
Worn out; weakened or exhausted by use; past usefulness; as, old shoes; old clothes.
8.
More than enough; abundant. (Obs.) "If a man were porter of hell gate, he should have old turning the key."
9.
Aged; antiquated; hence, wanting in the mental vigor or other qualities belonging to youth; used disparagingly as a term of reproach.
10.
Old-fashioned; wonted; customary; as of old; as, the good old times; hence, colloquially, gay; jolly.
11.
Used colloquially as a term of cordiality and familiarity. "Go thy ways, old lad."
Old age, advanced years; the latter period of life.
Old bachelor. See Bachelor, 1.
Old Catholics. See under Catholic.
Old English. See under English. n., 2.
Old Nick, Old Scratch, the devil.
Old lady (Zool.), a large European noctuid moth (Mormo maura).
Old maid.
(a)
A woman, somewhat advanced in years, who has never been married; a spinster.
(b)
(Bot.) A West Indian name for the pink-flowered periwinkle (Vinca rosea).
(c)
A simple game of cards, played by matching them. The person with whom the odd card is left is the old maid.
Old man's beard. (Bot.)
(a)
The traveler's joy (Clematis Vitalba). So named from the abundant long feathery awns of its fruit.
(b)
The Tillandsia usneoides. See Tillandsia.
Old man's head (Bot.), a columnar cactus (Pilocereus senilis), native of Mexico, covered towards the top with long white hairs.
Old red sandstone (Geol.), a series of red sandstone rocks situated below the rocks of the Carboniferous age and comprising various strata of siliceous sandstones and conglomerates. See Sandstone, and the Chart of Geology.
Old school, a school or party belonging to a former time, or preserving the character, manner, or opinions of a former time; as, a gentleman of the old school; used also adjectively; as, Old-School Presbyterians.
Old sledge, an old and well-known game of cards, called also all fours, and high, low, Jack, and the game.
Old squaw (Zool.), a duck (Clangula hyemalis) inhabiting the northern parts of both hemispheres. The adult male is varied with black and white and is remarkable for the length of its tail. Called also longtailed duck, south southerly, callow, hareld, and old wife.
Old style. (Chron.) See the Note under Style.
Old Testament. See Old Testament under Testament, and see tanak.
Old wife. (In the senses (b) and (c) written also oldwife)
(a)
A prating old woman; a gossip. "Refuse profane and old wives' fables."
(b)
(Zool.) The local name of various fishes, as the European black sea bream (Cantharus lineatus), the American alewife, etc.
(c)
(Zool.) A duck; the old squaw.
Old World, the Eastern Hemisphere.
Synonyms: Aged; ancient; pristine; primitive; antique; antiquated; old-fashioned; obsolete. See Ancient.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Old maid" Quotes from Famous Books



... by Beulah's psychical gifts because she noticed two years ago that when the family was playing "Old Maid" Beulah always knew in whose hands the dangerous queen was to be found. Then they began to experiment with cards in the family circle, and her ability to know of what the mother or the sister was thinking ...
— Psychology and Social Sanity • Hugo Muensterberg

... shall never have a house in Portland Place, nor any diamonds, except Aunt Mary's old brooch. I shall live and die an old maid, and nobody will waste a thought upon me," said Sophy, who made this prophecy at her ease, not expecting it to come true; "but I don't envy poor Clara, and if you marry such a man as Mr. Copperhead, though I shall admire you very much, Ursula, ...
— Phoebe, Junior • Mrs [Margaret] Oliphant

... dogs bred for ladies' laps are the curls of a mother's darling; the pendant love-locks of the old, old maid who, despite of changeful fashions, clings to those memorials of the pensive beauty of her youth, are repeated in solemn mimicry by the dachshund trotting at her heels; but the sensible fur cap of the dignified Newfoundland reminds us of the cold regions from which his forefathers ...
— Concerning Animals and Other Matters • E.H. Aitken, (AKA Edward Hamilton)

... evergreens. I told you we should see pigeons soon, but you thought it too early. We will have sport to-morrow, if it is warm. For the present, let us see whether Hans' old fowling-piece is still safe from rust. Here it stands behind his bed-room door, dressed up like an old maid for a sailing party, all in flannels. There, Peter, is a true 'stubb-and-twist,' and the locks, although rather out of fashion, are still as elastic as ever. This Hans himself will use to-morrow; for it is an old friend and might feel ...
— The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, May 1844 - Volume 23, Number 5 • Various

... the others wait till death for the bridegroom who does not come. Why should she marry one of her cousins when they were only after her money, the millions which she had inherited from her mother? She might as well remain an old maid and go ...
— The Confessions of Arsene Lupin • Maurice Leblanc


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