handmaiden
noun
hand·maid·en
ˈhan(d)-ˌmā-dᵊn 
variants
or less commonly handmaid
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
Gary Michael
Synonyms
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
Across the room, facing Helen, her handmaiden and Paris — and a despondent-looking dog — is Cassandra, who could see the future, along with Apollo, who had cursed her so her prophecies would not be believed.
—Elisabetta Povoledo, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Art was useful, too, as a handmaiden to the urgent problem of narrative.
—Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
In her earlier fiction, McCullers presented imagination positively—as the handmaiden to creativity, or as a kind of life force.
—Maggie Doherty, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024
Whenever and wherever the state becomes the solitary repository of Islamic wisdom, as in Saudi Arabia and Iran, Islam becomes the handmaiden of the rulers, which threatens its essential role as the fount of societal morality and a constraint on temporal power.
—Mohammed Ayoob, Foreign Affairs, 3 Apr. 2016
But what is more certain is that Western inaction could drive global South countries toward becoming handmaidens for China’s global ambitions.
—Happymon Jacob, Foreign Affairs, 25 Dec. 2023
Does Slobodian support their cause by impugning the very project of global governance as a handmaiden of capital?
—Stephen Wertheim, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2019
The Rules Committee of the House of Representatives has been called many things: traffic cop, the Speaker’s committee, handmaiden of the Speaker.
—E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 19 July 2023
Rebecca Lefton at The Center for American Progress (CAP) has written a very useful post and timeline, documenting how the federal government, under Bush, became a handmaiden to the oil and gas industry.
—Keith Kloor, Discover Magazine, 3 June 2010
Elisabetta Povoledo, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Art was useful, too, as a handmaiden to the urgent problem of narrative.
—Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
In her earlier fiction, McCullers presented imagination positively—as the handmaiden to creativity, or as a kind of life force.
—Maggie Doherty, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024
Whenever and wherever the state becomes the solitary repository of Islamic wisdom, as in Saudi Arabia and Iran, Islam becomes the handmaiden of the rulers, which threatens its essential role as the fount of societal morality and a constraint on temporal power.
—Mohammed Ayoob, Foreign Affairs, 3 Apr. 2016
But what is more certain is that Western inaction could drive global South countries toward becoming handmaidens for China’s global ambitions.
—Happymon Jacob, Foreign Affairs, 25 Dec. 2023
Does Slobodian support their cause by impugning the very project of global governance as a handmaiden of capital?
—Stephen Wertheim, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2019
The Rules Committee of the House of Representatives has been called many things: traffic cop, the Speaker’s committee, handmaiden of the Speaker.
—E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 19 July 2023
Rebecca Lefton at The Center for American Progress (CAP) has written a very useful post and timeline, documenting how the federal government, under Bush, became a handmaiden to the oil and gas industry.
—Keith Kloor, Discover Magazine, 3 June 2010
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'handmaiden.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of handmaiden was
in the 14th century
Dictionary Entries Near handmaiden
Cite this Entry
“Handmaiden.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/handmaiden. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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