schoolmarm
schoolmarm Lexical Profile
schoolmarm Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A person, especially a woman, who is regarded as prim, strict, pedantic, or prudish in manner and constantly corrects others.
"He hated sounding like a fussy schoolmarm, but he could not ignore the glaring grammatical errors in the report."
North American A female schoolteacher, especially one teaching in a traditional or rural one-room schoolhouse.
"Historical records show that the young schoolmarm taught thirty children of varying ages in a single timber cabin."
Word Nuance & Usage
While originally an informal American term for a female teacher in a rural schoolhouse, in modern usage it carries a distinctly pejorative and dated connotation of prim, joyless, or overly pedantic authority.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in mid-19th-century American English as a compound of 'school' and 'marm', a dialectal pronunciation of 'ma'am' (short for 'madam').