Beldam.
An old woman; literally, a grandmother. The French also use bel age for old age.
“Old men and beldames in the streets
Do prophesy upon it dangerously.”
An old woman; literally, a grandmother. The French also use bel age for old age.
“Old men and beldames in the streets
Do prophesy upon it dangerously.”
Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.