´óÏó´«Ã½

In this extract, recorded at Dulverton in Somerset, the Any Questions? panel debate a thorny problem: at what age should an unmarried woman be called a 'spinster'?

The mainly derogatory term 'spinster' refers to an unmarried woman, especially one who is beyond the usual age of settling down.

The first recorded use of the term is in Middle English, between 1100 and 1500, when it was employed to describe "women who spin" (during the production of textiles). By the 17th Century it was the legal description applied to unmarried women and from the 18th Century onwards it developed the connotations that are familiar today.

Aspects of this programme reflect the time when it was made.

´óÏó´«Ã½ Archive: