washwomen
Women scrubbing linens
Washwomen is the plural of washwoman—a woman who washes clothes for others as her occupation.
The term is old-fashioned, largely replaced by laundress or simply obsolete as commercial laundry and washing machines displaced the work: The washwomen came on Mondays to collect the dirty linens.
Cleaning by rubbing hard
- washboardRidged laundry surface
- clotheslineCord for air-drying laundry
- linensHousehold fabric goods
- garmentsArticles of clothing
suds · rinse · soap · stains · wringer · tub · basket · mangle
Woman who washes clothes
antebellum · colonial · tenement · segregation · emancipation · suffrage · working-class · Jim Crow
Hard, boring work
- toilStrenuous, prolonged effort
- backbreakingExtremely physically demanding
- exertionVigorous physical effort
- fatigueWeariness from prolonged exertion
sweat · callused · wages · piecework · grueling · manual · physical · kneeling
Bond among women
- communalShared by a community
- gossipInformal talk spreading rumors
- riversideArea bordering a stream
- singingVocal music-making
work songs · solidarity · independence · entrepreneurship · self-employed · network · reputation · clientele
scrubbing
Cleaning by rubbing hard
- washboardRidged laundry surface
- clotheslineCord for air-drying laundry
- linensHousehold fabric goods
garments · suds · rinse · soap · stains · wringer · tub · basket · mangle · bluing
laundress
Woman who washes clothes
Victorian · antebellum · colonial · tenement · segregation · emancipation · suffrage · working-class · Jim Crow · riverside
drudgery
Hard, boring work
- toilStrenuous, prolonged effort
- backbreakingExtremely physically demanding
- exertionVigorous physical effort
fatigue · sweat · callused · wages · piecework · grueling · manual · physical · kneeling · scrubbing
sisterhood
Bond among women
singing · work songs · solidarity · independence · entrepreneurship · self-employed · network · reputation · clientele · respectability
washwomenemployers
Those who hire staff
mistresses · clients · customers · madams · householders