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  • Word Origins

    I was asked yesterday for the origin of the word "charlady". (Grandmas come in handy for homework!!) Opinions and dictionaries differ. My copy suggests a corruption of an old English term, cerran, relating to working by the hour (i.e."turns") and also the the idea of " chore" lady, chore being the modern replacement of "char. What do you think?

    Elisabeth

  • #2
    Do you have access to an OED (organised on historical principles). This has the advantage of quoting the earliest noted usage.

    Chore is a word I think of as American - which probably means that it is a British dialect term, returned to these shores.
    Phoenix - with charred feathers
    Researching Skillings from Norfolk, Sworn from Salisbury and Adams in Malborough, Devon.

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    • #3
      From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

      A charlady or sometimes charwoman was an English house cleaner. The term is derivative of "chore woman," one hired to do odd chores around the house. The term originated in the late sixteenth century,[1] but developed it's modern usage around the mid-19th Century, often appearing as an occupation in the English census of 1841. Unlike a maid or housekeeper, typically live-in positions, the charlady worked for weekly wages and usually came and went on a daily basis.
      Wendy



      PLEASE SCAN AT 300-600 DPI FOR RESTORATION PURPOSES. THANK YOU!

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      • #4
        My mum was a housekeeper, but didn't do the rougher work, her employer had a charlady who polished floors, cleaned the grates, disinfected the drains etc.

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