beldame

English

Etymology

From late Middle English (1400-1450) bel (“fine”) + dam (“mother”), from Old French bele (“beautiful”) + dame (“woman”).

Noun

beldame (plural beldames)

(obsolete) A grandmother.
(now archaic) An old woman, particularly an ugly one.
- 1847, Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre:
  ... have a curiosity to hear my fortune told: therefore, Sam, order the beldame forward.
- 1982, TC Boyle, Water Music, Penguin 2006, p. 6:
  Suddenly the beldam shrieks as if she's been stuck with a dagger, long rasping insuck of breath: ‘Eeeeeeeee!’

Synonyms

(ugly woman): crone, hag, harridan
See also Thesaurus:ugly person

References

“beldame” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

Anagrams

embaled

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.