wench

1 of 2

noun

plural wenches
1
old-fashioned : a young woman or girl
"… why not ask the wench's hand from her father, if thou hadst any honesty in thy love for her?"Sir Walter Scott
2
a
old-fashioned : a female servant
a tavern wench
b
archaic : a girl or woman of a socially low class
They replied that they had seen nobody leave but a young girl, very shabbily dressed, and who had more the air of a poor country wench than a gentlewoman.Charles Perrault
3
archaic
a
: a lewd or sexually promiscuous woman
b
: a woman who engages in sex acts and especially sexual intercourse in exchange for pay : a woman who is a sex worker

wench

2 of 2

verb

wenched; wenching; wenches

intransitive verb

archaic
: to associate with and especially to have sexual relations with lewd or sexually promiscuous women
wencher noun
plural wenchers
archaic

Examples of wench in a Sentence

Noun a local wench who was well-known at the town's tavern
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Plus, the tavern wenches under her governance are overworked and have a headache. Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 14 June 2024 But, rather than locking these women in the wench kennel, Jamaica should have erected statues to them for resolving the colonial liquidity crisis. Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 15 July 2024 Was Gutenberg really in love with a wench named Helvetica, like in the show? Unlikely. Jennifer Schuessler, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2024 Maryland’s annual renaissance fair kicks off nine weekends of medieval celebrations, welcoming rogues, monks, maidens and wenches to step back to a time when owning a sword was cool. Haben Kelati, Washington Post, 24 Aug. 2023 See all Example Sentences for wench 

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English wenche, short for wenchel child, from Old English wencel; akin to Old High German wankōn to totter, waver and probably to Old High German winchan to stagger — more at wink

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1595, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of wench was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near wench

Cite this Entry

“Wench.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wench. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

wench

noun
ˈwench
1
: a young woman : girl
used especially in the past
2
: a female servant
used especially in the past

More from Merriam-Webster on wench

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