/ ˈspɪnstə(r); NAmE / noun
( old-fashioned , often disapproving ) a woman who is not married, especially an older woman who is not likely to marry
HELP NOTE : This word should not now be used to mean simply a woman who is not married.
—compare bachelor
► spin·ster·hood / -hʊd; NAmE / noun [ U ]:
For most women, marriage used to bring a higher status than spinsterhood.
••
WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (in the sense woman who spins ): from the verb spin + -ster ; in early use the term was appended to names of women to denote their occupation. The current sense dates from the early 18th cent.