The term "maid" has two common meanings:
- A maid, housemaid, or maidservant is traditionally a female domestic worker who performs household chores such as cleaning, laundry, cooking, and sometimes childcare or elder care. Historically and in some parts of the world today, maids worked in wealthier households or middle-class urban homes. The term can also refer to various specific roles within domestic service, such as chamber maid, kitchen maid, or nursery maid, often wearing a uniform and working long hours.
- In a very different context, especially in Canada and some other countries, "MAiD" stands for Medically Assisted (or Assistance in) Dying. It is a legal medical option where eligible adults with grievous medical conditions can have a doctor or nurse practitioner assist them in ending their life, typically through prescribed medications, to avoid suffering.
Which meaning of "maid" is of interest? The traditional domestic worker or the medical assistance in dying?
