![ModelC5 1912](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/ModelC5_1912.jpg)
A maid, or housemaid or maidservant, is a female
domestic worker
A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...
. In the
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
domestic service was the second largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids are now only found in the wealthiest households. In other parts of the world, maids remain common in urban middle-class households.
"Maid" in
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...
meant an unmarried woman, especially a young one, or specifically a
virgin
Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...
. These meanings lived on in English until recent times (and are still familiar from literature and folk music), alongside the sense of the word as a type of servant.
Description
In the contemporary
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and state (polity), states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania. , comparatively few households can afford live-in domestic help, usually relying on
cleaner
A cleaner or a cleaning operative is a type of industrial or domestic worker who cleans homes or commercial premises for payment. Cleaning operatives may specialise in cleaning particular things or places, such as window cleaners. Cleaning oper ...
s, employed directly or through an agency (
Maid service
Maid service, cleaning service, apartment cleaning and janitorial service are terms more modernly describing a specialized outside service, providing a specific service to individuals, businesses, fraternal clubs and associations as well residenti ...
). Today a single maid may be the only
domestic worker
A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...
that upper-middle class households employ, as was historically the case.
In less developed nations, various factors ensure a labour source for domestic work: very large differences in the income of urban and rural households, widespread poverty, fewer educated women, and limited opportunities for the employment of less educated women.
Maids perform typical domestic chores such as laundry, ironing, cleaning the house, grocery shopping, cooking, and caring for household pets. They may also
take care of children, although there are more specific occupations for this, such as
nanny
A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...
. In some poor countries, maids take care of the elderly and people with disabilities. Many maids are required by their employers to wear a
uniform
A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, se ...
.
Legislation in many countries makes certain living conditions, working hours, or minimum wage a requirement of domestic service. Nonetheless, the work of a maid has always been hard, involving a full day, and extensive duties.
Europe
Maids were once part of an elaborate hierarchy in
great house
A great house is a large house or mansion with luxurious appointments and great retinues of indoor and outdoor staff. The term is used mainly historically, especially of properties at the turn of the 20th century, i.e., the late Victorian or ...
s, where the
retinue
A retinue is a body of persons "retained" in the service of a noble, royal personage, or dignitary; a ''suite'' (French "what follows") of retainers.
Etymology
The word, recorded in English since circa 1375, stems from Old French ''retenue'', it ...
of servants stretched up to the housekeeper and butler, responsible for female and male employees respectively. The word "maid" itself means an unmarried young woman or virgin. Domestic workers, particularly those low in the hierarchy, such as maids and
footmen
A footman is a male domestic worker employed mainly to wait at table or attend a coach or carriage.
Etymology
Originally in the 14th century a footman denoted a soldier or any pedestrian, later it indicated a foot servant. A running footman deli ...
, were expected to remain unmarried while in service, and even highest-ranking workers such as butlers could be dismissed for marrying.
In Victorian England, all middle-class families would have "help", but for most small households, this would be only one employee, the maid of all work, often known colloquially as "the girl".
Historically many maids suffered from
Prepatellar bursitis
Prepatellar bursitis is an inflammation of the prepatellar bursa at the front of the knee. It is marked by swelling at the knee, which can be tender to the touch and which generally does not restrict the knee's range of motion. It can be extreme ...
, an inflammation of the
Prepatellar bursa
The prepatellar bursa is a frontal bursa of the knee joint. It is a superficial bursa with a thin synovial lining located between the skin and the patella.
Pathology
Prepatellar bursitis, also known as housemaid's knee, is a common cause of sw ...
caused by long periods spent on the knees for purposes of scrubbing and fire-lighting, leading to the condition attracting the colloquial name of "Housemaid's Knee".
Asia
Foreign women are employed in
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
,
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
,
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
in large numbers to work as maids or other roles of domestic service, and are often vulnerable to multiple forms of abuse.
Southern Africa
In some areas in the region the word "maid" is avoided. This is most likely due to the fact that it sounds like a racially derogatory term in Afrikaans. The Afrikaans word for a mite (small arachnid) has been used demeaningly to refer to woman of colour. The english word for a friend: "mate" is also avoided for this reason.
Types
![Joshua Reynolds - Tysoe Hancock and his Family with an Indian Maid - WGA19338](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Joshua_Reynolds_-_Tysoe_Hancock_and_his_Family_with_an_Indian_Maid_-_WGA19338.jpg)
Maids traditionally have a fixed position in the hierarchy of the large households, and although there is overlap between definitions (dependent on the size of the household) the positions themselves would typically be rigidly adhered to. The usual classifications of maid in a large household are:
*
Lady's maid: a senior servant who reported directly to the
lady
The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...
of the house, but ranked beneath the
Housekeeper, and accompanied her lady on travel. She took care of her mistress's clothes and hair, and sometimes served as confidante.
* House-maid or housemaid: a generic term for maids whose function was chiefly "above stairs", and were usually a little older, and better paid. Where a household included multiple housemaids the roles were often sub-divided as below.
** Head house-maid: the senior house maid, reporting to the Housekeeper. (Also called "House parlour maid" in an establishment with only one or two upstairs maids).
** Parlour maid: they cleaned and tidied reception rooms and living areas by morning, and often served refreshments at
afternoon tea
Tea (in reference to food, rather than the drink) has long been used as an umbrella term for several different meals. English writer Isabella Beeton, whose books on home economics were widely read in the 19th century, describes meals of var ...
, and sometimes also dinner. They tidied studies and libraries, and (with footmen) answered bells calling for service.
** Chamber maid: they cleaned and maintained the bedrooms, ensured fires were lit in fireplaces, and supplied hot water.
** Laundry maid: they maintained bedding and towels. They also washed, dried, and ironed clothes for the whole household, including the servants.
** Under house parlour maid: the general deputy to the house parlour maid in a small establishment which had only two upstairs maids.
*
Nursery maid: also an "upstairs maid", but one who worked in the children's nursery, maintaining fires, cleanliness, and good order. Reported to the
nanny
A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...
rather than the Housekeeper.
*
Kitchen maid: a "below stairs" maid who reported to the Cook, and assisted in running the kitchens.
** Head kitchen maid: where multiple kitchen maids were employed, the "head kitchen maid" was effectively a
deputy to the cook, engaged largely in the plainer and simpler cooking (sometimes cooking the servants' meals).
** Under kitchen maid: where multiple kitchen maids were employed these were the staff who prepared vegetables, peeled potatoes, and assisted in presentation of finished cooking for serving.
*
Scullery maid
In great houses, scullery maids were the lowest-ranked and often the youngest of the female domestic servants and acted as assistant to a kitchen maid.
Description
The scullery maid reported (through the kitchen maid) to the cook or chef. Along ...
: the lowest grade of "below stairs" maid, reporting to the cook, the scullery maids were responsible for washing cutlery, crockery, and glassware, and scrubbing kitchen floors, as well as monitoring ovens while kitchen maids ate their own supper.
*
Between maid
A between maid (nickname tweeny, also called hall girl particularly in the United States) was a female junior domestic worker in a large household with many staff. The position became largely defunct in the 20th century, as few households needed ...
, sometimes known as a "tweeny": roughly equivalent in status to scullery maids, and often paid less, between maids in a large household waited on the senior servants (
butler
A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...
,
housekeeper, and
cook
Cook or The Cook may refer to:
Food preparation
* Cooking, the preparation of food
* Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food
* Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry
* ...
) and were therefore answerable to all three department heads, often leading to friction in their employment.
*
Still room maid
The still-room maid is a female servant who works in the still room, the functional room in a great house in which drinks and jams are made. The still-room maid is a junior servant, and as a member of the between staff, reports to both the hous ...
: a junior maid employed in the
still room The still room is a distillery room found in most great houses, castles or large establishments throughout Europe dating back at least to medieval times.
Original purposes
Medicines were prepared, cosmetics and many home cleaning products create ...
; as the work involved the supply of alcohol, cosmetics, medicines, and cooking ingredients across all departments of the house, the still room maids were part of the "between staff", jointly answerable to all three department heads.
In more modest households a single maid-of-all-work or skivvy was often the only staff. It is possible this word originates from the Italian for slave ("schiavo"—"owned person").
In popular culture
One of the most in-depth and enduring representations of the lives of several types of maid was seen in the 1970s television drama ''
Upstairs, Downstairs'', set in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
between 1903 and 1936. The lives of maids were well represented in the ''
Downton Abbey
''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States on P ...
'' series, set in England between 1912 and 1926 and shown from 2010 onward.
The American television drama ''
The Gilded Age'', set in the 1880s in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, depicts the lives of maids living and working in the
great houses of the
era
An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth.
Comp ...
.
The main characters in the
NAMIC Vision Award
The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) is the only U.S. trade association representing mutual property/casualty insurance companies. Founded in 1895, NAMIC has been serving its U.S. and Canadian members in areas of advoca ...
-nominated television series ''
Devious Maids
''Devious Maids'' is an American television comedy-drama and mystery series created by Marc Cherry, produced by ABC Studios, and executive produced by Cherry, Sabrina Wind, Eva Longoria, Paul McGuigan, Larry Shuman, David Lonner, John Mass, Pau ...
'' are four housemaids.
See also
*
Au pair
An au pair (; plural: au pairs) is a helper from a foreign country working for, and living as part of, a host family. Typically, au pairs take on a share of the family's responsibility for childcare as well as some housework, and receive a monet ...
*
Charwoman
A charwoman (also chargirl, charlady or char) is an old-fashioned occupational term, referring to a paid part-time worker who comes into a house or other building to clean it for a few hours of a day or week, as opposed to a maid, who usually ...
*
Foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong
Foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong () are domestic workers employed by Hongkongers, typically families. Comprising five percent of Hong Kong's population, about 98.5% of them are women. In 2019, there were 400,000 foreign domestic helpers ...
*
French maid
''French maid'' was a term applied in the Victorian and early 20th century periods to a lady's maid of French nationality. A lady's maid was a senior servant who reported directly to the lady of the house, and accompanied her mistress on t ...
*
Janitor
A janitor (American English, Scottish English), also known as a custodian, porter, cleanser, cleaner or caretaker, is a person who cleans and maintains buildings. In some cases, they will also carry out maintenance and security duties. A simil ...
*
Servant
A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Domestic work
Home economics
Gendered occupations
Cleaning and maintenance occupations