matron, matrone

[Fr. matrone, from Lat. matron a =a matron, from mater (gen it. matris ) =a mother; Sp., Port. & Ital. matron a. ] 1. A married woman; espec., an elderly married woman; a woman of sufficient years to be the mother of a family, whether actually so or not; a woman of staid manners; the female head of a family. "For thee the soldier bleeds, the matron mourns." Pope: Homer's Iliad, vi. 412. 2650 about the guns in traversing, spunging, firing, and loading them; they carry firelocks, and march along with the store-wagons as a guard, and as a istants, in case a wagon should break." - Bailey .