Amilkmaid,milk maid,milkwoman,dairymaid, ordairywoman is a girl or woman who works with milk or cows.[1]
She milks cows and also uses themilk to preparedairy products such ascream,butter, andcheese. Many large houses employ milkmaids instead of having other staff do the work. The termmilkmaid is not the female equivalent ofmilkman in the sense of one who delivers milk to the consumer;[citation needed] it is the female equivalent ofmilkman in the sense ofcowman ordairyman.[2]
In 1600s-1800s English "milkmaids" sold milk wearing a yoke holding two milk pails and vending vessels, and also decorated themselves for the London May Day procession.[3][4]
As a result of exposure tocowpox, which conveys a partialimmunity to the disfiguring (and often fatal) diseasesmallpox, it was noticed that milkmaids lacked the scarred, pockmarked complexion common to smallpox survivors. This observation led to the development of the firstvaccine.[5]
{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)The standard edition of the cookbook glossesdeye as 'dairymaid', and indeed the term is otherwise recorded as a simplex in Middle English only with this meaning or the masculine equivalent 'dairyman'.
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