Legal Definition and Related Resources of Spinster
Meaning of Spinster
An unmarried woman.
Spinster Alternative Definition
An addition given, in legal writings, to a woman who never was married. Lovelace, Wills, 269.
Related Entries of Spinster in the Encyclopedia of Law Project
Browse or run a search for Spinster in the American Encyclopedia of Law, the Asian Encyclopedia of Law, the European Encyclopedia of Law, the UK Encyclopedia of Law or the Latin American and Spanish Encyclopedia of Law.
Spinster in Historical Law
You might be interested in the historical meaning of this term. Browse or search for Spinster in Historical Law in the Encyclopedia of Law.
Legal Abbreviations and Acronyms
Search for legal acronyms and/or abbreviations containing Spinster in the Legal Abbreviations and Acronyms Dictionary.
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| Spinster in the Dictionary | Spinster in our legal dictionaries | Browse the Legal Thesaurus | Find synonyms and related words of Spinster |
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| Related topics | Spinster in the World Encyclopedia of Law |
Notice
This definition of Spinster is based on the The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary . This entry needs to be proofread.
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Grammar
This term is a noun.
Etimology of Spinster
(You may find spinster at the world legal encyclopedia and the etimology of more terms).
mid-14c., “female spinner of thread,” from Middle English spinnen (see spin) + -stere, feminine suffix (see -ster). Unmarried women were supposed to occupy themselves with spinning, hence the word came to be “the legal designation in England of all unmarried women from a viscount’s daughter downward” [Century Dictionary] in documents from 1600s to early 1900s, and by 1719 the word was being used generically for “woman still unmarried and beyond the usual age for it.” Spinster, a terme, or an addition in our Common Law, onely added in Obligations, Euidences, and Writings, vnto maids vnmarried. [John Minsheu, “Ductor in Linguas,” 1617] Strictly in reference to those who spin, spinster also was used of both sexes (compare webster, baxter, brewster) and so a double-feminine form emerged, spinstress “a female spinner” (1640s), which by 1716 also was being used for “maiden lady.” Related: Spinsterhood.
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