/ ˈmeɪtrən; NAmE / noun
1.
( BrE ) a woman who works as a nurse in a school
2.
( old-fashioned , BrE ) a senior female nurse in charge of the other nurses in a hospital (now usually called a senior nursing officer )
3.
(becoming old-fashioned ) an older married woman
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (in sense 3): from Old French matrone , from Latin matrona , from mater , matr- mother.