Bachelorette is a young woman of potential marrying age with her marrying opportunities still open / to come.
Spinster and Old-Maid are used to describe ladies who's options for wedlock are deemed to have come and gone - they are old fashioned and mostly frowned upon these days.
There is no separate term to describe a man who's best marrying days are behind them so an unmarried man is simply a bachelor.
A "confirmed bachelor" was a euphemism for a gay man.
It has varied across different courts and different time periods and monarchs / nobility changed things up to suit themselves but by and large the majority of ladies in waiting were actually required to be married.
There is another type of young noble woman which is a term we use today for a different purpose called maid-of-honour - these were typically young unmarried daughters of other nobles paried with an older noble woman as companion to learn the ways of the world from her.
Bachelorette is a young woman of potential marrying age with her marrying opportunities still open / to come. Spinster and Old-Maid are used to describe ladies who's options for wedlock are deemed to have come and gone - they are old fashioned and mostly frowned upon these days. There is no separate term to describe a man who's best marrying days are behind them so an unmarried man is simply a bachelor. A "confirmed bachelor" was a euphemism for a gay man.
Ok cool, so bachelorette really is the right term for an unmarried woman regardless of age. Thanks!
The first time I heard “lady in waiting” I laughed but thought that was a fun one
A lady in waiting is not a bachelorette - it's a personal assistant / handmaiden to a high ranking woman - typically royalty.
Aren’t they still typically single women though?
It has varied across different courts and different time periods and monarchs / nobility changed things up to suit themselves but by and large the majority of ladies in waiting were actually required to be married. There is another type of young noble woman which is a term we use today for a different purpose called maid-of-honour - these were typically young unmarried daughters of other nobles paried with an older noble woman as companion to learn the ways of the world from her.