A spinster (or old maid) is a woman or girl of marriageable age who has been unwilling or unable to marry, therefore has no children. Socially, the term is usually applied only to women who are regarded as beyond the customary age for marriage, and is generally considered an insulting term, more degrading than the term "bachelor" for males. While men can continue to have children into their 70s or 80s, women generally become less and less able to bear children as they get older. So the term "old maid" is only applied to women who are past a child bearing age but have never married.
Damn.
2 comments:
But, also..."maid" is going to come from the word "maiden," which is a woman who has never had sex before. So, an "old maid" is a virgin past marriageable age.
And besides, who said anything about you ever being "old" (even past "marriageable" age)?!
No one said so, and I wasn't taking "spinster" as derogatory :)
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