In church this morning, the banns were published for a couple who are to be married in October. We got talking about it afterwards at breakfast and my mother said that in her day, the woman was referred to as the "spinster" of such-and-such a parish, and the man as the "bachelor" of such-and-such a parish.

What I want to know is, howcome men get to be "bachelors" instead of, like, you know, "millers" or "masons" or something, and women are defined as "spinsters"? How did both those words originate to describe single members of the sexes?

Let us go in peace to love and serve the board.