wench

peasant girl; female servant; wanton woman: a saucy little wench

Not to be confused with:

winch – a hoisting machine: They used a winch to hoist the wrecked cars onto the crusher.

wrench – a tool with jaws for gripping, turning, or twisting an object: Sometimes I have to use a wrench to open jars.

wench

(wĕnch)

n. Archaic

1. A young woman or girl.

2. A woman servant.

3. A promiscuous woman or a prostitute.

intr.v. wenched, wench·ing, wench·es

To consort with promiscuous women. Used of a man.

[Middle English, short for wenchel, child, from Old English wencel.]

wench′er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

wench

(wɛntʃ)

1. a girl or young woman, esp a buxom or lively one: now used facetiously

2. archaic a female servant

3. archaic a prostitute

vb (intr)

archaic to frequent the company of prostitutes

[Old English wencel child, from wancol weak; related to Old High German wanchal, wankōn]

ˈwencher n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

wench

(wɛntʃ)

n.

1. a girl or young woman.

2. Archaic. a strumpet.

v.i.

3. to associate, esp. habitually, with promiscuous women.

[1250–1300; Middle English, shortening of wenchel, Old English wencel child, akin to wancol tottering]

wench′er, n.

wench

Past participle: wenched
Gerund: wenching

Imperative
wench
wench

Present
I wench
you wench
he/she/it wenches
we wench
you wench
they wench

Preterite
I wenched
you wenched
he/she/it wenched
we wenched
you wenched
they wenched

Present Continuous
I am wenching
you are wenching
he/she/it is wenching
we are wenching
you are wenching
they are wenching

Present Perfect
I have wenched
you have wenched
he/she/it has wenched
we have wenched
you have wenched
they have wenched

Past Continuous
I was wenching
you were wenching
he/she/it was wenching
we were wenching
you were wenching
they were wenching

Past Perfect
I had wenched
you had wenched
he/she/it had wenched
we had wenched
you had wenched
they had wenched

Future
I will wench
you will wench
he/she/it will wench
we will wench
you will wench
they will wench

Future Perfect
I will have wenched
you will have wenched
he/she/it will have wenched
we will have wenched
you will have wenched
they will have wenched

Future Continuous
I will be wenching
you will be wenching
he/she/it will be wenching
we will be wenching
you will be wenching
they will be wenching

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been wenching
you have been wenching
he/she/it has been wenching
we have been wenching
you have been wenching
they have been wenching

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been wenching
you will have been wenching
he/she/it will have been wenching
we will have been wenching
you will have been wenching
they will have been wenching

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been wenching
you had been wenching
he/she/it had been wenching
we had been wenching
you had been wenching
they had been wenching

Conditional
I would wench
you would wench
he/she/it would wench
we would wench
you would wench
they would wench

Past Conditional
I would have wenched
you would have wenched
he/she/it would have wenched
we would have wenched
you would have wenched
they would have wenched

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	wench - informal terms for a (young) woman dame, doll, chick, bird, skirt fille, girl, miss, missy, young lady, young woman - a young woman; "a young lady of 18"
Verb	1.	wench - frequent prostitutes

wench

noun

A vulgar promiscuous woman who flouts propriety:

baggage, hussy, jade, slattern, slut, tart, tramp, wanton, whore.

Slang: floozy.

Translations

salope

prostituta ragazza

wench

[wentʃ] (archaic or liter)

A. N → moza f; (= whore) → puta f

B. VI (also to go wenching) → putañear (archaic), ir de fulanas

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

wench

[ˈwɛntʃ] n (old-fashioned) → servante f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

wench

n (old) → Maid f (old); (= serving wench) → Magd f; (hum) → Frauenzimmer nt

vi → sich mit Mädchen herumtreiben

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

wench

[wɛntʃ]

1. n (old) (liter) → ragazzotta
a serving wench → una servetta

2. vi (old) → andare a donne

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

"Yes, yes, he was," says the squire: "and many a wench have we two had together.

I was saying such garments are rare sights in the country; and perchance, too, it was thought the more rare, respect being had to the person who wore it, who, they tell me, is the daughter of Black George, your worship's gamekeeper, whose sufferings, I should have opined, might have taught him more wit, than to dress forth his wenches in such gaudy apparel.

View in context

"Why, what's put that into your head, my wench?" he said at last, after he had given one conservative puff.

"Nay, nay; you fancy so because you donna know it, my wench. It wouldn't be half so good for your health, nor for your luck i' life.

View in context

Sancho upon this related to her, word for word, what has been said already touching that adventure, and having heard it the duchess said, "From this occurrence it may be inferred that, as the great Don Quixote says he saw there the same country wench Sancho saw on the way from El Toboso, it is, no doubt, Dulcinea, and that there are some very active and exceedingly busy enchanters about."

The truth is that the one I saw was a country wench, and I set her down to be a country wench; and if that was Dulcinea it must not be laid at my door, nor should I be called to answer for it or take the consequences.

View in context

Tulliver was conscious of being a little weak; but he apologized to himself by saying that poor Gritty had been a good-looking wench before she married Moss; he would sometimes say this even with a slight tremulousness in his voice.

He seldom found any one volunteering praise of "the little wench"; it was usually left entirely to himself to insist on her merits.

View in context

It makes me sick, sick to see it, and you've gone on till you've turned the poor wench's head.

View in context

"Halt, rascals, and yield me that wench!" suddenly shouted in a voice of thunder, a cavalier who appeared suddenly from a neighboring square.

"Nombrill of the Pope!" said the captain, causing Quasimodo's straps to be drawn tighter, "I should have preferred to keep the wench."

View in context

That I may make short of this black part of this story, I was attacked by two wenches that came open-mouthed at me just as I was going out at the door, and one of them pulled me back into the room, while the other shut the door upon me.

View in context