chatelaines

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, […]...
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
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