A woman employed to educate and train the children of a private household.
[Middle English governesse, short for governouresse, from Old French governeresse, feminine of governeor, governor, from Latin gubernātor. See gubernatorial.]
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A woman employed to educate and train the children of a private household.
[Middle English governesse, short for governouresse, from Old French governeresse, feminine of governeor, governor, from Latin gubernātor. See gubernatorial.]
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
a woman entrusted with the care and supervision of a child (especially in a private home)
A governess is a female employee of a family who teaches children within their home. In contrast to a nanny (formerly called a nurse) or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not their physical needs. Her charges are of school age, not babies.
The position is rare now, except within large and wealthy households such as those of the Saudi royal family. It was common in well-off European families before World War I, especially in the countryside where no suitable school existed nearby. Parents' preference to educate their children at home—rather than send them away to board for months at a time—varied across time and countries. Governesses were usually in charge of girls and younger boys; when a boy was old enough, he left his governess for a tutor or a school.
Governesses taught the "Three Rs" to young children. They also taught the "accomplishments" expected of middle class women to the young ladies under their care, such as French or another language, the piano or another musical instrument, and often painting (usually the more ladylike watercolours rather than oils) or poetry. It was also possible for other teachers (usually male) with specialist knowledge and skills to be brought in, e.g. a drawing master.
A governess was in an awkward position in the Victorian household, neither quite a servant nor a member of the family. As a sign of this social in-between-ness, she often ate in isolation. She had a middle class background and education, but she was paid and not really part of the family. Being a governess was one of the few legitimate ways an unmarried middle class woman could support herself in that society. Her position was often depicted as one to be pitied, and the only likely way out of it was to marry. Once her charges grew up, she had to seek a new position, or, exceptionally, might be retained by the grown-up daughter as a paid companion.
Several well-known works of fiction, particularly in the nineteenth century, have focused on governesses.
In the past, the term "governess" also referred to a female politician who serves as governor, but the term is now exclusively used to refer to a female teacher employed by a family, with the term "governor" being used in politics for both men and women.
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - guvernante, lærerinde
Nederlands (Dutch)
gouvernante
Français (French)
n. - gouvernante
Deutsch (German)
n. - Gouvernante, Erzieherin
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ιδιωτική) νηπιαγωγός (κν. γκουβερνάντα, νταντά), (η) κυβερνήτης
Italiano (Italian)
governante, istitutrice
Português (Portuguese)
n. - governanta (f)
Español (Spanish)
n. - institutriz, aya, gobernanta
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - guvernant
中文(简体) (Chinese (Simplified))
女家庭教师
中文(繁體) (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 女家庭教師
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) مربيه اطفال, الحاكمه, زوجه الحاكم
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - מורה, מחנכת, מורה פרטית (בבית)
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![]() | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Governess". Read more | |
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