Word
bridget
Phoneticsbrid·get
/ˈbɹɪdʒət/
Definitions
01a person's name
n. a common female first name that comes from Ireland.
n. a female given name, anglicized from the Irish name Brighid.
“Bridget decided to visit her family in Dublin for the holidays.”
“The name Bridget has remained a staple of Irish nomenclature for centuries, though its popularity has fluctuated across different generations.”
02a servant
n. an old, often rude word for an Irish woman who worked as a housemaid.
n. a genericized and often derogatory term for an Irish female domestic servant. Used primarily in 19th-century North America.
“In old stories from the 1800s, the family's cook was often called a Bridget.”
“Historical accounts of urban life in the 1850s frequently reference the 'Bridget' as a cultural archetype of the immigrant domestic worker.”
American English · Archaic · Informal
Usage
Usually capitalized, though sometimes found in lowercase in older texts.
Teaching tip
This sense is archaic and carries a history of ethnic stereotyping; learners should only encounter it in historical literature.
Etymology
English form of the Irish saints' name Brighid, Brigid. Doublet of Bride.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/bridget