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TheAdmiralMoses t1_j2c4ik9 wrote

Reply to comment by skymoods in The male version of a mermaid is a mermanservant. by zurds13

I got it a little mixed up, maid is more for unmarried women, married women are ladies. An older unmarried woman was an old maid or a spinster.

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Glordicus t1_j2cygtc wrote

Yes this is where a woman's "maiden" name comes from. Maid is actually closer to "virgin" than "unmarried" - but in ye olde times those were hand in hand. This is why you might hear of a "maiden voyage" for a ships first sail, because the ship is still virgin.

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durma5 t1_j2dlcx0 wrote

And maid as virgin was applied to both men and women.

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