online medical dictionary | definition of matron

1. A wife or a widow, especially, one who has borne children; a woman of staid or motherly manners. "Your wives, your daughters, Your matrons, and your maids." (Shak) "Grave from her cradle, insomuch that she was a matron before she was a mother." (Fuller)

2. A housekeeper; especially, a woman who manages the domestic economy of a public instution; a head nurse in a hospital; as, the matron of a school or hospital. Jury of matrons, a jury of experienced women called to determine the question of pregnancy when set up in bar of execution, and for other cognate purposes.

Origin: F. Matrone, L. Matrona, fr. Mater mother. See Mother.

(01 Mar 1998)