handmaiden noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced American Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

Definition of handmaiden noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

handmaiden

noun

NAmE//ˈhændˌmeɪdn//

(also handmaid

NAmE//ˈhændmeɪd//

)

1(old-fashioned) a female servant

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2(formal) something that supports and helps something else Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences.

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