handmaids
Ladies in waiting
Handmaids is the plural of handmaid, an archaic or literary term for a female servant or attendant.
The word appears in biblical contexts and formal religious language: the handmaid of the Lord.
Margaret Atwood's novel *The Handmaid's Tale* revived the term, depicting women forced into reproductive servitude—now handmaid often evokes that dystopian image.
People who assist others
- servantsHired household workers
- domesticsHousehold service workers
- ladies-in-waitingFemale royal companions
- chambermaidsHotel room cleaners
helpers · household staff · retinue · personal aides · bondwomen · subordinates · assistants · menials
Tools for precise tasks
- toolsDevices for doing work
- facilitatorsThose who aid progress
- enablersThose who facilitate harm
- supportersPeople who back something
auxiliaries · accessories · agents · vehicles · means · conduits · adjuncts · contributors
Transjordanian territory in scripture
- AtwoodCelebrated Canadian literary figure
- fertilityCapacity for reproduction
- surrogacyBearing child for others
- oppressionUnjust exercise of power
theocracy · Commanders · Marthas · ceremony · subjugation · resistance · red robes · wings
Non-wife sexual partners kept
- surrogatesSubstitutes for others
- childbearingGiving birth to young
- barrennessInability to bear fruit
- fertilityCapacity for reproduction
Genesis · patriarchs · Rachel · Leah · offspring · heirs · womb · lineage
attendants
People who assist others
- servantsHired household workers
- domesticsHousehold service workers
- ladies-in-waitingFemale royal companions
chambermaids · helpers · household staff · retinue · personal aides · bondwomen · subordinates · assistants · menials · dependents
instruments
Tools for precise tasks
- toolsDevices for doing work
- facilitatorsThose who aid progress
- enablersThose who facilitate harm
supporters · auxiliaries · accessories · agents · vehicles · means · conduits · adjuncts · contributors · helpers
Gilead
Transjordanian territory in scripture
- AtwoodCelebrated Canadian literary figure
- fertilityCapacity for reproduction
- surrogacyBearing child for others
oppression · theocracy · Commanders · Marthas · ceremony · subjugation · resistance · red robes · wings · totalitarianism
concubines
Non-wife sexual partners kept
- surrogatesSubstitutes for others
- childbearingGiving birth to young
- barrennessInability to bear fruit
fertility · Genesis · patriarchs · Rachel · Leah · offspring · heirs · womb · lineage · bondservants
handmaidsmistresses
Female lovers outside marriage
ladies · queens · empresses · masters · matriarchs
- Handmaid's TaleReproductive slavery narrative