wench
Plural: wenches
Noun
- informal terms for a (young) woman
- A girl or young woman, especially a buxom or lively one.
- A girl or young woman, especially a buxom or lively one.
- A girl or young woman of a lower class.
- Used as a term of endearment for a female person, especially a wife, daughter, or girlfriend: darling, sweetheart.
- A woman servant; a maidservant.
- A promiscuous woman; a mistress (“other woman in an extramarital relationship”).
- A prostitute.
- A black woman (of any age), especially if in a condition of servitude.
Verb
Verb Forms: wenched, wenching, wenches
- To frequent the company of prostitutes.
- frequent prostitutes
- To frequent prostitutes; to whore; also, to womanize.
- To act as a wench.
Examples
- Jane played the role of a wench in an Elizabethan comedy.
- Though a playable word, ’WENCH’ is one I’d rather not play in a family game of Scrabble.
Origin / Etymology
The noun is derived from Middle English wench, wenche (“female baby; girl (especially unmarried); maiden, young woman; bondwoman; serving maid; beloved, sweetheart; concubine, mistress; harlot, prostitute”) [and other forms], a shortened form of Middle English wenchel (“girl; maiden; child”), from Old English wenċel, winċel (“child; servant; slave”), from Proto-Germanic *wankilą, from Proto-Germanic *wankijaną (“to sway; waver”). The English word is cognate with Old High German wenken (“to waver; to give way, yield”), wankōn (“to totter”).
The verb is derived from the noun.
Synonyms
bird, chick, dame, doll, skirt, 304, Athanasian wench, Cyprian, Essex girl, Fulham virgin, LBFM, NB: All terms are usually pejorative unless stated otherwise., Quicumque vult, alley cat, alleycat, amoret, amorette, amorosa, article, bit on the side, blowsabella, bop, chippy, cockslut, cockwhore, cocotte, concubine, crumpet, cum dumpster, cumguzzler, cumhole, cumslut, cumwhore, demimondaine, doxy, drab, dulcinea, eager beaver, flirt-gill, floogy, floosie, floosy, floozie, floozy, fornicator, fornicatour, fornicatress, fornicatrix, fuckstress, geebag, giglot, gill, gillian, good-time girl, goomah, grim, grisette, harlot, ho, ho bag, ho-bag, hoe, hoe bag, hoe-bag, hoochie, hoochie mama, hood rat, hussy, jade, jay, jillflirt, lady of light virtue, leman, light-o'-love, light-of-love, lightskirt, little brown fucking machine, loon, loose woman, lorette, mab, manizer, minx, mistress, moll, mort wap-apace, negress, number two, nymphomaniac, painted Jezebel, puta, puzzel, quean, quiff, rig, scag, scrubber, side bitch, side chick, side piece, side ting, skank, sket, skettle, skit, slag, slapper, slattern, sloven, slut, slutbag, sprunk, stale, streel, strumpet, sweet cheeks, tart, tartlet, thot, thotty, town bicycle, town bike, tramp, treddle, trollop, trull, village bicycle, village bike, wagon, waistcoateer, wanton, wench, whore, wifelet
Scrabble Score: 13
wench: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordwench: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
wench: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary