comely maidens
noun
comely maidens is spelled C-O-M-E-L-Y-M-A-I-D-E-N-S: 13 letters. As a noun, comely maidens means “An outdated stereotype of Irish women; used as a reference to misogynistic opinions” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in comely maidens?
| Letters | 13: C-O-M-E-L-Y-M-A-I-D-E-N-S |
|---|---|
| In writing | a phrase: the frequency list counts single words |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
What does comely maidens mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
IrelandAn outdated stereotype of Irish women; used as a reference to misogynistic opinions.
He was surprised to see so many women workers. What did he expect, comely maidens?
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does comely maidens come from?
Incorrectly attributed to a speech by Irish statesman Éamon de Valera. A longer version is often misquoted as "comely maidens, dancing at the crossroads". The actual phrase, delivered in a radio broadcast on St. Patrick's Day 1943, mentions "the laughter of happy maidens, whose firesides would be forums for the wisdom of serene old age." See Wikipedia article.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).