What does bachelorship mean?
Bachelorship refers to the state or condition of being an unmarried man — essentially a synonym for the far more common word 'bachelorhood'. It can denote both the status itself and the stretch of time during which a man remains single, as in 'his bachelorship lasted until he was thirty-five'. The word is formed by attaching the suffix '-ship', which turns nouns into abstract terms denoting condition or standing, to 'bachelor', itself derived from Old French. Historically, a bachelor was a young knight too inexperienced to lead men under his own banner, and the term later broadened to any unmarried man and to holders of the lowest university degree. Although 'bachelorship' was once a perfectly serviceable term, it has largely fallen out of everyday speech and now reads as dated or literary. Readers are most likely to meet it in older novels, letters, and historical texts, where it lends a formal, slightly quaint tone to descriptions of unmarried life before marriage.
nounThe state or period of being an unmarried man; the condition of bachelorhood.
- The state or condition of being an unmarried man.
- The period of time during which a man is unmarried.
"He looked back on his bachelorship with fondness, remembering the carefree years before his marriage."
"His long bachelorship came to an end when he married at forty."
"During her brother's bachelorship, the family home was filled with noise and late nights."
Rarely used; the plural would appear only in unusual contexts referring to multiple instances or states of bachelorhood.
"The novel contrasts the bachelorships of two very different men."
Before 'bachelorhood' took over, English speakers spoke of a man's 'bachelorship' — and the word even echoes in the academic 'bachelor's degree', which once marked a young man too junior to be a full knight.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bachelorship
The word combines 'bachelor', borrowed from Old French 'bacheler', ultimately from medieval Latin 'baccalarius', meaning a young squire or junior knight, with the suffix '-ship', from Old English '-scipe', denoting state or condition. The compound emerged in English to describe the condition of bachelorhood, paralleling formations like 'friendship' and 'scholarship'. In modern usage it has been almost entirely displaced by 'bachelorhood', which is formed with the more recent native-style suffix '-hood'.
Related word forms
How bachelorship is actually used
'Bachelorship' is archaic or very rare in modern usage; speakers almost always say 'bachelorhood' instead. When encountered today it appears mainly in older literature or historical writing.
Easily confused with bachelorship
Both mean the state of being a bachelor, but 'bachelorhood' is by far the more common modern term, while 'bachelorship' is an older, now rare synonym.