Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Beldame
{
, Bel′dam
Bel′dame
}Noun.
1.
Grandmother; – corresponding to belsire.
To show the
beldam
daughters of her daughter. Shakespeare
2.
An old woman in general; especially, an ugly old woman; a hag.
Syn. – hag, beldam, witch, crone.
Around the
beldam
all erect they hang. Akenside.
Definition 2025
beldame
beldame
English
Noun
beldame (plural beldames)
- (obsolete) A grandmother.
- (now archaic) An old woman, particularly an ugly one.
- 1847, Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre:
- ... have a curiosity to hear my fortune told: therefore, Sam, order the beldame forward.
- 1982, TC Boyle, Water Music, Penguin 2006, p. 6:
- Suddenly the beldam shrieks as if she's been stuck with a dagger, long rasping insuck of breath: ‘Eeeeeeeee!’
- 1847, Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre:
Synonyms
References
- “beldame” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.