laundress

[ lawn-dris, lahn- ]

noun

1. a woman whose work is the washing and ironing of clothes, linens, etc.

laundress

/ ˈlɔːndrɪs /

noun

1. a woman who launders clothes, sheets, etc, for a living

Gender Note

See -ess.

Other Words From

• under·laundress noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of laundress¹

1540–50; obsolete launder launderer ( launder ) + -ess

Example Sentences

Most significantly, it overturned a New York minimum wage law in a decision known as Tipaldo, after its detestable protagonist, the owner of a laundry who had been cheating his laundresses of their legal wages.

From Los Angeles Times

In a little over a year, my three-decade indenture as a full-time laundress will come to an end.

From Los Angeles Times

Ethel Waters in 1949 became the second Black performer to score an Oscar nomination as an illiterate Southern laundress in “Pinky.”

From Los Angeles Times

From emancipated sharecroppers to domestic servants, laundresses, blacksmiths and carpenters, Black laborers used apparel as a creative outlet amid dire conditions and despite limited resources, says the brand.

From Los Angeles Times

His father was a roofer, and his mother was a laundress.

From Washington Post