matron
/ˈmeɪtɹən/noun
matron is spelled M-A-T-R-O-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,556th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, matron means “A mature or elderly woman, especially one of a higher social rank” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of matron is matrons.
How many letters and syllables are in matron?
| Letters | 6: M-A-T-R-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.0 times per million words; the 28,556th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is matron?
Matron appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,556th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce matron?
- /ˈmeɪtɹən/
Matron has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-matron.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of matron
- matrons plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does matron mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A mature or elderly woman, especially one of a higher social rank.
- 2
A woman with the character of a mother or matriarch.
- 3
A woman in charge of the domestic arrangements of an establishment or institution, especially, the nursing officer or chief nurse of a hospital.
the matron of a school or hospital
- 4
A wife or a widow, especially, one who has borne children.
- 5
A housekeeper, especially, a woman who manages the domestic economy of a public institution.
- 6
USA female prison officer.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Matron in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense mature or elderly woman:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does matron come from?
From Middle English matrone, from Old French matrone, from Latin mātrōna (“married woman”), from māter (“mother”). Doublet of matrona.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).