handmaiden
English
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handmaiden
Where it comes from
From Middle English hande mayden, handmaiden, hand mayden, hand-mayden, handmayden, hondemaiden, hond maydyn, hoondmaydyn. By surface analysis, hand + maiden.
Sense 2 is an allusion to Canadian writer Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale (1985), in which "handmaids" are women who serve the male commanders in a patriarchal dystopia.
noun handmaidens
- Alternative form of handmaid And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
- A cisgender woman who supports transgender rights. The fact that it is not possible to be seen as a supporter of trans people's human rights, as all feminists are or at least should be, unless we fully capitulate and take the metaphorical – and sometimes literal – boot in the face shows how extreme trans activists, enabled by their handmaiden allies
Talk about this word "handmaiden." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/handmaiden. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. handmaiden. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/handmaiden "handmaiden." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/handmaiden.Cite this
@misc{handmaiden_2026,
title = {handmaiden},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/handmaiden},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
