Meaning & use
milkmaid
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Meaning
nouncountableold-fashioned
A woman or girl whose job was to milk cows on a farm, especially in the past.
Grammar: Countable noun: use 'a milkmaid' for one, and 'milkmaids' for more than one.
Patterns
- work as a milkmaid
- a milkmaid on a farm
In the old painting, a milkmaid carries two buckets across the field.
The story describes a milkmaid who woke before sunrise to milk the cows.
Word forms
| plural | milkmaids |
|---|
Common combinations
- a milkmaid's stool
- The museum displayed a small wooden milkmaid's stool.
- work as a milkmaid
- She worked as a milkmaid on her family's farm.
- a milkmaid carrying a pail
- The song tells of a milkmaid carrying a pail of fresh milk.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dairy worker
- This is the modern, neutral term for someone who works with milk production; 'milkmaid' sounds historical and specifically female.
- dairymaid
- Very close in meaning, but 'dairymaid' can include other dairy tasks such as making butter, not just milking.
Word family
Commonly confused: milkmaid or mermaid?
milkmaid vs mermaid
A mermaid is a mythical sea creature with a fish tail; a milkmaid is a real historical farm worker. The words sound similar but are unrelated.
Practice
In which sentence is 'milkmaid' used correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Milkmaid' refers to a woman who milks cows on a farm, so option 1 fits. Option 0 describes a mermaid, a different word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “milkmaid”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.