Meanings
nountallywoman (plural tallywomen)
plural tallywomen
- A woman who conducts the tally trade.
- archaicinformalregionalA woman who cohabits (with someone) outside of marriage.
It is used in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cheshire, and, I dare say, various other counties. A tally-woman is the mistress of a married man, who is said to live tally with her.
[1890, F.C. Birkbeck Terry, “Tally-woman”, in Notes and Queries, page 297 - IrelandgovernmentA female counting agent.
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Origin
Cite this entry
APA
tallywoman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tallywoman
MLA
“tallywoman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tallywoman. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tallywoman,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tallywoman.
Source: tallywoman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.