chairmaness
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: chairmanesses
Etymology: From chairman + -ess.
Senses: examples: text: He did not wish to introduce the names of ladies into the debate, but could not help remarking that in The Times of Saturday last, there appeared an advertisement of a society to collect funds to be remitted to General Garibaldi, of which society the Countess of Shaftesbury was Chairmaness—[A Laugh]—and in the list of contributions which followed the first name was that of Lady Palmerston, and the second that of Mrs. Gladstone.
ref: 1860 August 16, Hansard’s Parliamentary Debates. […], volumes CLX […], London: […] Cornelius Buck, […], page 1374:
text: “Miss Chairmaness, as there is quite a stock of clothing on hand, allow me to ask if the committee to distribute should not be appointed?”
ref: 1861 May 15, “Cousin Carrie”, “The Little Girls’ Sewing Bee”, in The Advocate and Family Guardian. A Semi-Monthly Periodical. The Organ of the American Female Guardian Society, Home for the Friendless and Home Industrial Schools., volume XXVII, number 10 (whole 622), New York, N.Y.: American Female Guardian Society, […], page 155, column 1:
text: The venerable Lucretia Mott, who was its Chairmaness declared that it had fulfilled its mission, that it “had seen the salvation of the Lord,” and like the aged “Simeon” was ready to depart.
ref: 1870 March 31, “Not yet out of the Wood Pile”, in Daily Davenport Democrat, Davenport, Iowa, column 1:
text: Mrs. Caldwell, chairmaness of the Arkansas Woman’s Centennial Executive Committee, has issued an address calling upon the women of the State to go to work heartily for the Philadelphia exhibition.
ref: 1875 August 20, “News in Brief”, in Public Press, volume III, number 43, Northumberland, Pa.:
text: We intimated as much to a lady friend, who was chairmaness of the tasting committee.
ref: 1875 November 5, The Tarborough Southerner, volume 53, number 44, Tarboro, N.C.:
text: Mr. G. Merritt moved thanks to the “Chairmaness,” and quality of tone which it would be quite right for a heavy the meeting closed with applause.
ref: 1901, The Musical Herald and Tonic Sol-fa Reporter, page 40, column 1:
text: Is she the chairmaness of any committees?
ref: 1903, Journal of Education, page 168, column 1:
text: Ned Tracy and Kate Dexter constituted themselves chairman and chairmaness of the committee and assumed full management.[…]The secret of how Mr. and Mrs. Towle were furnished with a wedding which they could not possibly have afforded, a trousseau and wedding presents that would not have come in a less pretentious affair has been well kept by the committee, especially by the chairman and chairmaness, who paid the bills.
ref: 1906 December 29, Hope Hopkins, “A Social Prank”, in The Miami Evening Record, volume IV, number 34, Miami, Fla.:
text: To this decision the commissioneress from the Second district assented but she of the Third protested so strenuously that the chairmaness, somewhat perplexed, called up the county attorneyess for advice on the subject.
ref: 1909 October 21, “A Prophecy”, in The Valentine Democrat, volume 24, number 41, Valentine, Neb.:
text: She was the chairmaness of the Society for the Amelioration of Poverty, or whatever it was, in San Francisco, and, despite an exceptionally brusk manner, she was a woman of great kindliness of spirit and good works.
ref: 1910 October 30, Clarence L. Cullen, “Uneasy Plumage”, in The Sunday Star, numbers 291, 18,295, Washington, D.C., section “Tracy’s Great Opportunity”, page 13:
text: Thus in State v. Walbridge, 69 Mo. App. 657, it appeared that one Bristol the superintendent of the house of refuge in the city of St. Louis, caused to be set up and printed by the inmates of the institution a circular ridiculing the “chairmaness” and two women members of the board of managers of the house of refuge, who were his superiors in office, and circulated the same in the city.
ref: 1912, Annotated Cases, American and English: Containing the Important Cases Selected from the Current American, Canadian and English Reports, Thoroughly Annotated, page 275:
text: Schuyler Arnold, chairman; Miss Burns, chairmaness;
ref: 1913, Horticulture, page 271, column 3:
text: The Chairmaness of their indignation Committee read the resolutions they had adopted.
ref: 1913 May 8, “Let Us Hope”, in Licking Valley Courier, volume 3, number 48 (whole 152), West Liberty, Ken.:
text: For a campaign document presented in the disguise of economic or sociological literature, commend us to Frances A. Kellor, chairman-ess of the woman’s committee of the National Hughes alliance;
ref: 1916 July 27, ““Straight America!” or What?”, in South Bend News-Times, volume XXXIII, number 209, South Bend, Ind., page 4:
text: Miss Lottie McIntyre chairman-ess, introducing the following speakers:[…]
ref: 1916 August 12, “Barkerville News”, in The Cariboo Observer, volume 8, number 52, Quesnel, B.C.:
text: Incidentally, if the aforesaid chairman has not been exercising his authority in this particular department of the domestic economy and is conscious of a delicate reluctance in the matter, he might test out his diplomacy in tactfully impressing the thought upon the mind of his vice chairmaness, or chairlady, or whatever the technical title of his majority fraction may be.
ref: 1917, Rough Notes, page 197:
text: Who knows how long it will be before the chairmaness of the Twenty-ninth Ward Republican Club will be demanding a fair share of municipal patronage?
ref: 1917 August 16, “The Mayor’s Up-to-Date Page”, in St. Louis Post-Dispatch, volume 69, number 361, St. Louis, Mo., page 20:
text: Every one of my dresses was too morning or evening or something, and above all things I do believe in dressing a part, and certainly I had nothing which looked like a chairmaness.
ref: 1918 September 28, Nina Wilcox Putnam, “Pro Bonehead Publico”, in The Saturday Evening Post, volume 191, number 13, Philadelphia, Pa., page 6, column 2:
text: The chairmaness quickly slipped a pint bottle under her cape:[…]
ref: 1918 October 1, “Liberty Bond Applications Coming Slow”, in The Johnson City Staff, volume IX, number 162, Johnson City, Tenn., page eight:
text: “Where’s our vice-chairmaness?” shouted some one when the matter of Mrs. Williams had been disposed of.
ref: 1920 July 13, Lucy Calhoun, “Third Party Parleys Attract Women; See Need of New Organization; Work Without Big Convention Fund”, in San Francisco Examiner, volume CXIII, number 13, San Francisco, Calif., page 2:
text: Many ladies of the state, including Mrs. McCullough, who was a delegate at large to the national convention, Miss Julia Landers, chairmaness of the Indiana Womans democrat League, and Miss May Williams, of Tennessee.
ref: 1920 July 28, “Great Meeting of Democrats”, in The Scott County Journal, volume XXXVIII, number 35, Scottsburg, Ind.:
text: It was Mrs. A. E. D. Trabue, who is chairmaness of the tournament committee and a golf worker of most relentless perseverance, who told me that the qualifying round will take place on Monday and match play on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
ref: 1921 March 24, D. Scott Chisholm, “Women’s Titular Tourney Starts Next Monday”, in Los Angeles Evening Express, volume L, number 311, Los Angeles, Calif.:
text: No, I didn’t say her name was Miss Hannah, Who, Why I mean Miss Hannah Kristianson of the Krystal Optical company and the hustling vice chairmaness of the Pageant of Progress Parade committee on interesting mercantile and other business establishments in this parade.
ref: 1921 November 9, E. I. Reardon, “County Fair Notes”, in The Sumter Daily Item, volume LV, number 22, Sumter, S.C., page 4:
text: The chairmaness of the Nebraska League of Women voters sends out a quiz to candidates in which this question: “How would you handle the problem of the moron?” Most candidates are reluctant to put their replies into print, but we presume would not object to whispering the same privately to the chairmaness.
ref: 1922 July 14, “State Press”, in The York Daily News-Times, York, Neb., page four:
text: Somehow or other the ladies didn’t get in on that resolution, and I know they want to thank the entertainment committee through me, Mr. and Mrs. Edwards, the chairman and chairmaness, for all that they have done,[…]
ref: 1923, Paint, Oil and Chemical Review, page 86, column 1:
text: Martha Fischel, president of the charity commission, was chairmaness;[…]While the chairmaness tried to find out what the witness didn’t know, Mrs. Trelease mildly exercised her talking machinery and got it into good training.
ref: 1923, The Law Student, pages 3, column 4; and 6, column 2:
text: She hikes, cooks, presides, / And can lecture, besides, / Does our Vice-chairmaness, Mary Shirer.
ref: 1927, Trail and Timberline, page 9:
text: With the entire card carried out in the usual Leap Year fashion, according to the dainty chairmaness …
ref: 1936 February 26, “’Round the Town with Regan”, in St. Louis Star-Times, volume 50, number 126, St. Louis, Mo., page twenty:
text: Great credit is due the committee of the Thrushes for the excellence of the supper served and the chairmaness of the Cuckoos responded with a speech of appropriate gratitude.
ref: 1945 May 16, “Woman’s Literary Club Annual Meeting”, in Orleans County Monitor, volume 74, number 20, Barton, Vt., page one, column 5:
text: Even the chairmaness doesn’t know exactly what it is.
ref: 1953 November 28, Mark Beltaire, “It’s Yuletide for Pooches, Too”, in The Detroit Free Press, volume 123, number 207, Detroit, Mich., page 26:
text: Many husbands who have thought they were head of the corporation, and therefore entitled to legislate now and then, have discovered they were ruled out of order by the chairmaness of the board.
ref: 1963 July 24, “Consent By Husbands-To-Be Needed”, in Orlando Sentinel, volume 79, number 71, Orlando, Fla., page 4-A, columns 5–6:
text: ICC Chairmaness Is Virginia Mae Brown
ref: 1968 December 19, Escanaba Daily Press, Escanaba, Mich., page six:
text: They are simply concerned with being chairmanesses of companies.
ref: 1973, Harriet Waugh, Mirror Mirror, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, page 179:
text: And the Chairmaness of the judges doesn’t like me – because of an incident in her kitchen.
ref: 1999, A. L. Kennedy, Everything You Need, Jonathan Cape, page 312:
glosses: Synonym of chairwoman.
synonyms: word: chairwoman