governesses
Private household teachers
Governesses is the plural of governess, a woman employed to teach and care for children in a private household.
The role was common among middle-class women in the 18th and 19th centuries—respectable but precarious, as governesses occupied an awkward social position between family and servants.
The governess taught the children French and deportment.
The term now sounds historical or literary.
- BrontëLiterary sisters' surname
- nurseryRoom for infants
- drawing roomFormal reception space
- petticoatsUndergarments beneath skirts
bonnets · corsets · propriety · etiquette · manners · chaperone · upbringing · finishing
Hired child caretaker
- nursemaidDomestic child caretaker
- au pairForeign live-in childcare worker
- childminderProfessional youth caretaker
- nurseryRoom for infants
charges · wards · nurture · supervision · attendant · guardian · protector · custodian
Individual instruction provider
- instructionGuidance for action
- lessonsUnits of teaching
- pupilLearner or eye opening
- schoolroomIndoor teaching space
curriculum · teach · literacy · homework · study · blackboard · pedagogy · scholarly
Trained self-control or specialty
- sternStrict or ship's aft
- austereSeverely simple and unadorned
- severeExtremely harsh or strict
- demandingRequiring great effort
rigid · formidable · exacting · authoritarian · unyielding · prim · proper · no-nonsense
Leader or instruction book
- adviserOne giving professional guidance
- confidanteTrusted female friend
- role modelPerson others emulate
- moral guidanceTeaching right from wrong
wisdom · influence · shaper · counselor · instructress · patroness · inspiration · formative
Jane Eyre
- BrontëLiterary sisters' surname
- nurseryRoom for infants
- drawing roomFormal reception space
petticoats · bonnets · corsets · propriety · etiquette · manners · chaperone · upbringing · finishing · deportment
nanny
Hired child caretaker
- nursemaidDomestic child caretaker
- au pairForeign live-in childcare worker
- childminderProfessional youth caretaker
nursery · charges · wards · nurture · supervision · attendant · guardian · protector · custodian · watchful
tutor
Individual instruction provider
- instructionGuidance for action
- lessonsUnits of teaching
- pupilLearner or eye opening
schoolroom · curriculum · teach · literacy · homework · study · blackboard · pedagogy · scholarly · academic
discipline
Trained self-control or specialty
demanding · rigid · formidable · exacting · authoritarian · unyielding · prim · proper · no-nonsense · reproof
guide
Leader or instruction book
- adviserOne giving professional guidance
- confidanteTrusted female friend
- role modelPerson others emulate
moral guidance · wisdom · influence · shaper · counselor · instructress · patroness · inspiration · formative · trusted
- Victorian educatorsschoolmasters, headmasters, tutors, schoolmistresses
- school staffteacher, teachers, principal, professor, librarian
- servantsbutler, maid, servant, servants, domestics
- aristocratic educationtutors, etiquette, deportment, protocol, Latin
- Edwardian BritainEdward VII, Queen Victoria, country houses, manor houses, servants
- girls' educationgirls' schools, girls' education, finishing school, finishing schools, convent school
governessesschoolteachers
Classroom educators of children
schoolmasters · pupils · students · schoolmistresses · professors
governessesscullery maids
Servants washing dishes, pots
housemaids · charwomen · servants · kitchen staff · footmen
governessestutors
Private academic helpers
governors · schoolmasters · manservants · valets · preceptors