chatelaine

Noun

chatelaine (plural chatelaines)

1. (dated) The mistress of a castle or large household.
   • Gerard returned safely to his native land, and in the fantastic spirit of the times, he approached his own castle disguised as a pilgrim, intending to himself and his Chatelaine, the delight of a romantic surprise. […] He accordingly repaired, in the silent hour of midnight, when the castle was...1831, Thomas Colley Grattan, chapter VIII, in The Heiress of Bruges; a Tale of the Year Sixteen Hundred. … In Three Volumes, 2nd edition, volume I, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […]...
   • [A] detachment of the Imperial army, under Francis Wesselény, was ordered to attack the castle. Having made the most elaborate preparations, he summoned the garrison to surrender; the refusal was haughty and uncompromising, and, to the surprise of Wesselény, dictated by the Chatelaine herself, who...1843 January, “Art. IV.—The City of the Magyar. By Miss [Julia] Pardoe. London: Virtue. 1841. 2. The Hungarian Castle. By Miss Pardoe. London: Boone.”, in The Church of England Quarterly Review...
2. (historical) A chain or clasp worn at the waist by women with handkerchief, keys, etc., attached, supposed to resemble the chain of keys once worn by medieval chatelaines.
   • This elegant little appendage to the dress, large enough to contain a handkerchief and purse, is deserving of being as generally adopted in the United States as it has recently been in Paris. […] Both sides of the Chatelaine are embroidered alike. […] The hook attaches this Chatelaine to the...1854 July, Mrs. Pullan, “Embroidered Chatelaine”, in Peterson’s Magazine, volume XXVI, number 1, Philadelphia, Pa.: Charles J[acobs] Peterson, →OCLC, page 54
   • The latest fashion is to wear watches suspended from the chatelaine. The chatelaine is short, and ornamented with charms.1869 September, “Chitchat on Fashions for September”, in Sarah J[osepha] Hale, Louis A[ntoine] Godey, editors, Godey’s Lady’s Book and Magazine, volume LXXIX, number 471, Philadelphia, Pa.: Published...
3. A similar thing in miniature attached to a watchchain.
   • A French fashion is now busy investing the large body of French gentlemen with Chatelaines. These do not hang, as with English ladies, from the waist, but from the waistcoat pocket. They are generally attached to the watch—or, supposing the gentleman has no such useful appendage for killing time...1847, “Chatelaines for Gentlemen”, in Punch, or The London Charivari, volume XVI (New Library Series), number 405, London: Punch Office, […], and Bradbury, Evans, & Co., […], →OCLC, page 153, column 1
   • The Swiss jewellery chiefly consisted of châtelaines or watch pendants, having no very distinct style or character, but embracing examples of all styles, both ancient and modern; […] One of the chief attractions in the collection were the examples of châtelaines attached to watch cases, ornamented...1874, “Artizans’ Report upon the Vienna Exhibition”, in The Practical Magazine: An Illustrated Cyclopædia of Industrial News, Inventions and Improvements, Collected from Foreign and British Sources...