ancille

French

Noun

ancille f (plural ancilles)

1. Alternative form of ancelle

Further reading

• “ancille”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Middle English

Alternative forms

• ancele

Etymology

From Old French ancele, ancelle, from Latin ancilla.

Noun

ancille (plural ancilles)

1. maidservant; handmaid
   • 14th c. Geoffrey Chaucer, An ABC (The Prayer of Our Lady)

     Thee whom God ches to mooder for humblesse!
     From his ancille he made the maistresse
     Of hevene and erthe, oure bille up for to beede.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

References

• “ancille”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.