washerwomen
They scrub linens
Washerwomen is the plural of washerwoman—a woman who washes clothes for a living.
The term belongs to an era before washing machines, when laundry was grueling manual labor: The washerwomen scrubbed linens at the river's edge.
Now chiefly historical or used in period settings.
Woman who washes clothes
- charwomanHired female cleaner
- scrubbingCleaning by rubbing hard
- wringingTwisting to extract moisture
- soakingCompletely saturated with liquid
handwash · mangle · wringer · washboard · clothesline · linens · pails · tubs
Of a prim era
- colonialOf occupied territories
- antebellumBefore a war's start
- servitudeCompulsory labor under masters
- sculleryRoom for dishwashing
workhouse · tenement · suffrage · emancipation · indentured · gentry · downstairs · below-stairs
Area bordering a stream
- wellDug water source
- fountainWater-spouting structure
- gossipInformal talk spreading rumors
- sisterhoodBond among women
solidarity · camaraderie · network · cooperative · collective · singing · storytelling · traditions
Payment for work
- pieceworkPay per unit produced
- povertySevere lack of resources
- subsistenceMinimal means of living
- hardshipSuffering from difficult circumstances
boarders · widows · breadwinner · self-employed · tips · customers · clients · independence
laundress
Woman who washes clothes
soaking · handwash · mangle · wringer · washboard · clothesline · linens · pails · tubs · basins
Victorian
Of a prim era
- colonialOf occupied territories
- antebellumBefore a war's start
- servitudeCompulsory labor under masters
scullery · workhouse · tenement · suffrage · emancipation · indentured · gentry · downstairs · below-stairs · service
riverside
Area bordering a stream
sisterhood · solidarity · camaraderie · network · cooperative · collective · singing · storytelling · traditions · gathering
wages
Payment for work
- pieceworkPay per unit produced
- povertySevere lack of resources
- subsistenceMinimal means of living
hardship · boarders · widows · breadwinner · self-employed · tips · customers · clients · independence · employment
fatigue
Weariness from prolonged exertion
calluses · backache · stooped · weathered · reddened · blistered · exertion · endurance · toil · strain
- genre scenesdomestic scene, tavern scene, market scene, village scene, dining room
- manual laborfarming, lifting, carrying, shoveling, loading
- commonerscommoner, commoners, peasant, peasants, common people
- Frontierswomenhomesteaders, settlers, ranchers, farmers, cowgirls
- underclasspoor, pauper, peasant, homeless, serf
washerwomenemployers
Those who hire staff
noblewomen · society ladies · gentlewomen · madams · ladies of leisure