handmaiden

noun

hand·​maid·​en ˈhan(d)-ˌmā-dᵊn 

variants or less commonly handmaid

ˈhan(d)-ˌmād 

1

: a personal maid or female servant

2

: something whose essential function is to serve or assist

… criticism is not the enemy of art but rather its handmaiden …

—Gary Michael

Synonyms of handmaiden

• housekeeper
• maid

Examples of handmaiden in a Sentence

the princess was intensely shy, and allowed only her handmaiden to enter her chambers

Recent Examples on the Web

There was a procession to the church of white clad handmaidens (tärnor), star boys (stjärngossar) and gingerbread men (pepparkaksgubbar) with candle wreaths on the maidens’ heads – now battery powered rather than actual flames. — Natasha Langan, TheWeek, 29 Sep. 2026

Did Penelope, Helen of Troy, Athena, Calypso, and the rest of the Greek gals and goddesses deserve to be more epic than the attractive but flattened handmaidens even IMAX couldn’t enhance? — Lisa Henricksson, Air Mail, 8 Aug. 2026

Her handmaiden points out that a sword contradicts her message of peace and suggests instead a chain. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 6 July 2026

Brush in hand, she is dwarfed by huge canvases within the paintings on which bare-breasted figures are in the process of emerging—a waiflike handmaiden hard at work at the feet of her American Helens of Troy. — Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 23 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for handmaiden

• menhaden
• unladen
• laden
• maidan
• maiden

Kids Definition

handmaiden

noun

hand·​maid·​en -ˌmād-ən 

variants also handmaid

-ˌmād 

: a female servant or attendant