baleboste

[ bah-luh-buhs-tuh, -baws- ]

noun

, Informal.

1. a capable, efficient housewife, especially a traditional Jewish one, devoted to maintaining a well-run home.

Word History and Origins

Origin of baleboste¹

< Yiddish bal ( e ) boste, bal ( e ) buste proprietress, housekeeper, housewife, equivalent to bal ( e ) bos, bal ( e ) bus proprietor, owner, master (compare Hebrew baʿal habayth master of the house) + -te feminine noun suffix (compare Aramaic -ta, equivalent to -t feminine suffix + -a definite article)