Friday, October 28, 2011

made, maid

Made or made means fashioned, devised, or constructed. Made is the past tense ( yesterday, or some time ago) of "make"--
He made a model volcano for a science project.
She made a cake for his birthday.
She made a dress in sewing class.

Maid or maid ( rhymes with made ) means a female domestic employee, hired to clean or tidy up--
They were so messy, they hired a maid to take care of the house.
She did all her own cleaning, and wouldn't hire a maid, although they could afford it.
Many old plays use maids and servants to help explain the plot.
Maid or maid is also an old-fashioned or archaic word for an unmarried woman--
Medieval stories are full of comely maids and knights in armor.
Joan of Arc is called the "Maid of Orleans" .

Now that you know that, you can say--
"Did you try some of the cake the new maid made? It's delicious."
"The maid made the beds."

Note--"maiden" is another form of maid, meaning an unmarried woman. It is still used today to refer to a woman's surname ( last name ) before marriage--
I can't find my old high school friends on Facebook, because I only know their maiden names.
Maiden is also used to refer to the first voyage of a ship--
The "Titanic" sank on its maiden voyage.
Maiden may also refer to the first speech a new member of parliament makes--
His maiden speech was reported in all the papers.
Maiden is also used in a more general way to mean a first attempt at doing something--
Not bad for a maiden effort.
Not to be confused with "made in" ( two words ), which may be on the label of imported goods--
Made in China
This car was made in England.

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