Ma"tron (?), n. [F. matrone, L. matrona, fr. mater mother. See Mother.] 1. A wife or a widow, especially, one who has borne children; a woman of staid or motherly manners.
Your wives, your daughters,
Your matrons, and your maids.
Shak.
Grave from her cradle, insomuch that she was a matron before she was a mother.
Fuller.
2. A housekeeper; esp., a woman who manages the domestic economy of a public instution; a head nurse in a hospital; as, the matron of a school or hospital.
Jury of matrons Law, a jury of experienced women called to determine the question of pregnancy when set up in bar of execution, and for other cognate purposes.
© Webster 1913. | 
