kembster

K5E1M3B3S1T1E1R1

noun

A woman who cleans or combs out wool

OriginMiddle English kembestere →
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

nounkembster (plural kembsters)

plural kembsters · alternative kempster

  1. archaichistoricalA woman who cleans or combs out wool

    A married woman who supplemented her family's income by brewing ale or combing wool for yarn would not have been identified in the records as a brewster or kembster.

    2005, Marjorie Keniston McIntosh, Working Women in English Society, 1300-1620, page 15

Origin

  1. Middle Englishkembestere
  2. Englishkembster

From Middle English kembestere, kempstare, kemster, equivalent to kemb + -ster.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

kembster. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kembster

MLA

“kembster.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kembster. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kembster,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kembster.

Source: kembster on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.