washerwoman
She scrubs linens
A washerwoman is a woman who washes clothes for a living, typically taking in laundry from multiple households.
The term belongs to an earlier era when washing was done by hand and often outsourced to working-class women: The washerwoman came every Monday to collect the linens.
Now largely historical.
Woman who washes clothes
- charwomanHired female cleaner
- maidHousehold cleaning worker
- housemaidLive-in cleaning employee
- servantOne employed to serve
chambermaid · housekeeper · amah · ayah · domestic · hireling · char · daily
Ridged laundry surface
- tubOpen washing basin
- mangleSeverely damage or distort
- clotheslineCord for air-drying laundry
- clothespinSpring-loaded laundry fastener
pail · scrubboard · washhouse · copper · wringer · laundry basket · soap · lye
Cleaning by rubbing hard
- wringingTwisting to extract moisture
- soakingCompletely saturated with liquid
- rinsingClearing with water
- handwashClean manually with water
ironing · starching · bleaching · mangling · hauling · beating · hanging · folding
Household fabric goods
- garmentsArticles of clothing
- sheetsFlat expanses of material
- shirtsUpper body garments
- collarsGarment neck portions
petticoats · aprons · tablecloths · handkerchiefs · bedding · drawers · chemises · napkins
Extremely lacking in money
- destitutionExtreme poverty, lacking necessities
- slumsImpoverished, crowded districts
- pittanceInsultingly small payment
- subsistenceMinimal means of living
tenement · want · hardship · struggle · neediness · widowed · hand-to-mouth · piecework
Of a prim era
- DickensianGrimly poor, socially unjust
- nineteenth-centuryThe years 1801-1900
- pre-industrialBefore mass manufacturing emerged
- colonialOf occupied territories
antebellum · workhouse · riverside · communal · trade · reputation · respectability
laundress
Woman who washes clothes
servant · chambermaid · housekeeper · amah · ayah · domestic · hireling · char · daily · help
washboard
Ridged laundry surface
- tubOpen washing basin
- mangleSeverely damage or distort
- clotheslineCord for air-drying laundry
clothespin · pail · scrubboard · washhouse · copper · wringer · laundry basket · soap · lye · bluing
scrubbing
Cleaning by rubbing hard
- wringingTwisting to extract moisture
- soakingCompletely saturated with liquid
- rinsingClearing with water
handwash · ironing · starching · bleaching · mangling · hauling · beating · hanging · folding · carrying
linens
Household fabric goods
collars · petticoats · aprons · tablecloths · handkerchiefs · bedding · drawers · chemises · napkins · towels
impoverished
Extremely lacking in money
- destitutionExtreme poverty, lacking necessities
- slumsImpoverished, crowded districts
- pittanceInsultingly small payment
subsistence · tenement · want · hardship · struggle · neediness · widowed · hand-to-mouth · piecework · penury
Victorian
Of a prim era
- DickensianGrimly poor, socially unjust
- nineteenth-centuryThe years 1801-1900
- pre-industrialBefore mass manufacturing emerged
colonial · antebellum · workhouse · riverside · communal · trade · reputation · respectability
- femalesgirl, lady, mother, daughter, wife
- old occupationsblacksmith, carpenter, miller, farmer, shepherd
- camp followerssutler, laundress, camp cook, prostitute, concubine
- Medieval Womenabbess, noblewoman, lady, queen, duchess
- Victorian Jobschimney sweep, milliner, housemaid, blacksmith, cobbler
- castle staffchamberlain, chambermaid, butler, guard, handmaiden
washerwomannoblewoman
Female of high birth
aristocrat · gentlewoman · employer · socialite · lady of the house