ENGLISH
REFERENCE

spinster

n.
US //ˈspɪnstɝ// UK //spˈɪnstɐ// spin·ster Archaic Dialect Vulgar
Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English spynnestere (“woman who spins fibre”), from c. 1350; equivalent to spin + -ster. The semantic development is from a historical notion of unmarried women spinning thread for a living.

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