“Bondmaid. It came back to me then, and I realized that the words most often used to define us were words that describe our function in relation to others. Even the most benign words - maiden, wife, mother - told the world whether we were virgins or not. What was the male equivalent of maiden? I could not think of it. What was the male equivalent of Mrs., of whore, of common scold? I looked out the window towards the scriptorium, the place where the definitions of all these words were being bedded down. Which words would define me? Which would be used to judge or contain? I was no maiden, yet I was no man’s wife. And I had no desire to be.” InspiringFeminismDefinitionsWomen EmpowermentFeminist LiteratureWords And Meanings Book:The Dictionary of Lost Words Source: The Dictionary of Lost Words
“Menstruosity was the condition of being menstruous. And menstruous had once meant horribly filthy or polluted. Menstruous. Like monstrous. It came closest to explaining how I felt. Lizzie had called it “The Curse". She had never heard of menstruation and laughed when I said it.” WomenFeminismDefinitionsFemininityMenstruationVaginas Book:The Dictionary of Lost Words Source: The Dictionary of Lost Words
“Literately’ was used in a novel by Elizabeth Griffiths. While no other examples of use have been forthcoming, it is, in my opinion, an elegant extension of ‘literate’. Dr. Murray agreed I should write an entry for the Dictionary, but I have since been told it is unlikely to be included. It seems our lady author has not proved herself a ‘literata’- an abomination of a word coined by Samuel Taylor Coleridge that refers to a ‘literary lady’. It too has only one example of use, but its inclusion is assured. This may sound like sour grapes, but I can’t see it catching on. The number of literary ladies in the world is surely so great as to render them ordinary and deserving members of the literati.” InspirationalFeminismWomen EmpowermentAuthorsFeminist Literature Book:The Dictionary of Lost Words Source: The Dictionary of Lost Words