Word.ws English Dictionary

old-maidism

old-maidism noun: the condition or characteristics of a spinster.

Noun

old-maidism (countable and uncountable, plural old-maidisms)

  1. The condition or characteristics of a spinster.
    • The great cauſe which contributes to OLD MAIDISM is the natural vanity inherent in our ſex ; and which makes us believe, that at any time we may inſure to ourſelves what we hold indiſpenſably our duty for a while to reject.1751, “On the Sin of Living Single. By the Female Student.”, in The Student, Or, The Oxford and Cambridge Monthly Miscellany, volume 2, page 349
    • I might not be ſuppoſed ſo far advanced in old-maidiſm; to have my whole deſign imputed to a ſeverity which ſometimes prevails amongſt that unfortunate claſs of females.1768 April, Amanda, “On the Fair-Sex”, in The London Magazine, or, Gentleman's Monthly Intelligencer, page 199

Forms of old-maidism

pluralold-maidisms

Origin of old-maidism

From old maid + -ism.

Questions about old-maidism

What does old-maidism mean?
Old-maidism means the condition or characteristics of a spinster.
What part of speech is old-maidism?
Old-maidism is a noun.
What is the plural of old-maidism?
The plural of old-maidism is old-maidisms.

Words near old-maidism in the dictionary

  1. old-hat
  2. old-line
  3. old-maidenism
  4. old-maidhood
  5. old-maidish
  6. old-maidism
  7. old-maidisms
  8. old-man
  9. old-man-yells-at-cloud
  10. old-men
  11. old-oil

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: old-maidism (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “old-maidism.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/old-maidism. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.