Charlady

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈtʃɑːˌleɪ.di/

Definitions

1. A woman engaged in domestic work typically focused on cleaning tasks within private or public properties
2. An individual, usually female, tasked with maintaining cleanliness in various establishments like homes or offices
3. A female worker who performs cleaning duties in private residences or public buildings

Etymology: A charlady is a cleaner, but the word is built from two plain English parts: "char," meaning a chore or a task of work, and "lady," the familiar term for a woman. The "char" element goes back to Old English "cierr," meaning a turn or a time, and it came to mean a job of work, which is why the old phrase "to do a char" meant to do odd jobs by the day. Combining it with "lady" gave a polite title for a woman hired to clean other people's homes. The compound reflects the social habits of its era. Women who worked by the day were often called "charwomen," and "charlady" is essentially the same idea with the more genteel "lady" in place of "woman." The pairing of a humble task with a courteous title was a common way of describing domestic workers without naming their class directly.

Synonyms: cleaner, housekeeper, maid, domestic, servant

Antonyms: employer, boss, manager, owner, landlord