wench
/wɛnt͡ʃ/
wench noun: a girl or young woman, especially a buxom or lively one.
Noun
wench (plural wenches or (obsolete, dialectal) wenchen)
- A girl or young woman, especially a buxom or lively one.
- Jane played the role of a wench in an Elizabethan comedy.
- I, like a tẽder harted vvench, ſkriked out for feare of the divell.a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “[The Second Booke] Chapter 14”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia]...
- A girl or young woman of a lower class.
- The woman is a brazen, hard-looking wench, a female pedlar, who hawks needles, thread, cheap looking-glasses, pious pictures, almanacs, hair-pins, ballads, of the most humble pattern, through the country.1871, W[illiam] Barry, “The Barony of Threeneheila within Drum”, in Moorland and Stream. With Notes and Prose Idyls on Shooting and Trout Fishing, London: Tinsley Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 25
- Used as a term of endearment for a female person, especially a wife, daughter, or girlfriend: darling, sweetheart.
- When I am dead, good Wench, / Let me be vs'd with Honor; ſtrew me ouer / With Maiden Flowers, that all the world may know / I was a chaſte Wife, to my Graue: [...]1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio)...
- The mother held her tight, / Saying hard between her teeth—'Why wench, why wench, / The squire speaks to you now—the squire's too good; / He means to set you up, and comfort us. / Be mannerly at least.'1856, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “Third Book”, in Aurora Leigh, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1857, →OCLC, page 126
- A woman servant; a maidservant.
- When they had kyndled a fyre in the myddes of the palys / and were sett doune to gedder / Peter alsoo sate doune amonge them. And won off the wenches / as he sate / beholde him by the light and sett goode eyesight on him / and sayde: This same was also with hym. Then he denyed hym sayinge: Woman I...1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, The Gospell off S. Luke xxij:[55–57], folios cxiiii, recto – cxiiii, verso
- "I fear there is a chase; I think I hear three or four galloping together; I am sure I hear more horses than one." / "Pooh, pooh, it is the wench of the house that is clattering to the well in her pattens; […]."1819, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter V, in Tales of My Landlord, Third Series. […], volume I (The Bride of Lammermoor), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for...
- A promiscuous woman; a mistress (“other woman in an extramarital relationship”).
- 2 [Friar Bernardine]. Thou haſt committed— / Bar[abas]. Fornication? but that was in another Country; And beſides, the Wench is dead.c. 1589–1590 (date written), Christopher Marlo[we], edited by Tho[mas] Heywood, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Iew of Malta. […], London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for Nicholas Vavasour, […], published...
- Whilſt Men have theſe Ambitious Fancies, / And wanton Wenches read Romances, / Our Sex will—What? out with it: Lye: / And Theirs in equal Strains reply.1702, Mat[thew] Prior, “To a Young Gentleman in Love. A Tale.”, in Poems on Several Occasions, 2nd edition, London: Printed for Jacob Tonson, […], published 1709, →OCLC, page 103
- Synonyms:
- NB: All terms are usually pejorative unless stated otherwise., 304, alley cat, alleycat, amorette, amoret, amorosa, article, Athanasian wench, blowsabella
- A prostitute.
- A black woman (of any age), especially if in a condition of servitude.
- Nancy Basset, 28, likely wench, mulatto / Proved to be free. / Certified free as per General Birch Certificate. / / Patience Jackson, 23, very likely wench, mulatto / Says she was born free Rhode Island. / Certified free as per General Birch Certificate.1776–1787, Carmelita Robertson, Elizabeth E. D. Eve, Black Loyalists of Nova Scotia: Tracing the History of Tracadie Loyalists, 1776–87 (Curatorial Report; no. 91), Halifax, N.S.: History Section...
- Now, I bought a gal once, when I was in the trade,—a tight, likely wench she was, too, and quite considerable smart— [...]1851 June – 1852 April, Harriet Beecher Stowe, “[Eliza’s Escape]”, in Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life among the Lowly, volume I, Boston, Mass.: John P[unchard] Jewett & Company; Cleveland, Oh.: Jewett...
- Synonyms:
- negress
Verb
wench (third-person singular simple present wenches, present participle wenching, simple past and past participle wenched)
- To frequent prostitutes; to whore; also, to womanize.
- This is ſure ſome hide-bound ſtudent, that proportions his expence by his penſion; and wencheth at Tottenham court for ſtewed prunes and cheeſcakes.1638, Thomas Nabbes, The Bride, a Comedie. […], London: Printed by R[ichard] H[odgkinson] for Laurence Blaikelocke […], published 1640, →OCLC; republished in Playes, Maskes, Epigrams, Elegies, and...
- He [a man under the influence of the planet Mars] hath a marke or ſcar in his face, is broad-ſhouldered, a ſturdy ſtrong body, being bold and proud, given to mocke, ſcorne, quarrell, drinke, game and wench: which you may eaſily know by the Signe he is in; if in the houſe of ♀ he wencheth, if in ☿s...1647, William Lilly, “Another Briefe Description of the Shapes and Formes of the Planets”, in Christian Astrology Modestly Treated of in Three Books. […], London: Printed by Tho[mas] Brudenell for...
- To act as a wench.
- λαικάζω (laikázō), to wench1852, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Greek-English Lexicon, page 824
wench meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Malayalam
wench in Hindi
- (archaic) girl or young woman
- औरत aurat
- (archaic) promiscuous woman
- औरत aurat
wench in Tamil
- நாட்டுப்புறப் பெண், பணி நங்கை, இளம்பெண்
wench in Urdu
- بچی, چھوکری, دوشیزہ, فاحشہ, لڑکی, نوکرانی
wench in Malayalam
- പെൺകുട്ടി, പെൺ
Examples of wench in a sentence
- hee weepes like a wench that had ſhed her / milke, he hath confeſt himſelfe to Morgan, whom hee ſuppoſes to be a Friar, [...]c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, &...
- Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz ſtayed by En-rogel: (for they might not be ſeene to come into the citie) and a wench went and told them: and they went, and tolde king Dauid.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Samuel 17:17, column 1:
- Beside, this I affirm—afford / Impression of it in thy soul—I will not use my sword / On thee or any for a wench, unjustly though thou tak'st / The thing thou gav'st; […][1611?], Homer, “Book I”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., The Iliads of Homer Prince of Poets. […], London: […] Nathaniell Butter, →OCLC...
- He was received by the daughter of the house, a pretty, buxom, blue-eyed little wench, who seemed to regard the tall, bronzed, black-eyed stranger with much and evident favour.1887, William Black, “New Quarters”, in Sabina Zembra […], volume III, London; New York, N.Y.: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 22:
Synonyms of wench
- NB: All terms are usually pejorative unless stated otherwise.
- 304
- alley cat
- alleycat
- bop
- chippy
- cocotte
- cockslut
- cockwhore
- crumpet
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of wench
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | wenches |
| plural (obsolete, dialectal) | wenchen |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | wenches |
| present participle | wenching |
| past participle | wenched |
| past | wenched |
| second-person singular present (archaic) | wenchest |
| second-person singular past (archaic) | wenchedst |
| third-person singular present (archaic) | wencheth |
Origin of wench
The noun is derived from Middle English wench, wenche (“female baby; girl (especially unmarried); maiden, young woman; bondwoman; serving maid; beloved, sweetheart; concubine, mistress; harlot, prostitute”) [and other forms], a shortened form of Middle English wenchel (“girl; maiden; child”), from Old English wenċel, winċel (“child; servant; slave”), from Proto-Germanic *wankilą, from Proto-Germanic *wankijaną (“to sway; waver”). The English word is cognate with Old High German wenken (“to waver; to give way, yield”), wankōn (“to totter”). The verb is derived from the noun.
Words formed from wench
Words that rhyme with wench
11 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about wench
- What does wench mean?
- Wench means a girl or young woman, especially a buxom or lively one.
- What is wench in Hindi?
- Wench in Hindi is औरत (aurat). See Wench meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use wench in a sentence?
- hee weepes like a wench that had ſhed her / milke, he hath confeſt himſelfe to Morgan, whom hee ſuppoſes to be a Friar, [...]
- What part of speech is wench?
- Wench can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce wench?
- Wench is pronounced /wɛnt͡ʃ/.
- What is the plural of wench?
- The plural of wench is wenches.
Words near wench in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: wench (page history and authors); wench (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); wench (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); wench (Malayalam Wiktionary) (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.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-wench.ogg.
Cite this entry: “wench.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/wench. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.