Matron \Ma"tron\, n. [F. matrone, L. matrona, fr. mater mother. See Mother.]

1. A wife or a widow, especially, one who has borne children; a woman of staid or motherly manners.

Your wives, your daughters, Your matrons, and your maids. --Shak.

Grave from her cradle, insomuch that she was a matron before she was a mother. --Fuller.

2. A housekeeper; esp., a woman who manages the domestic economy of a public instution; a head nurse in a hospital; as, the matron of a school or hospital.

Jury of matrons (Law), a jury of experienced women called to determine the question of pregnancy when set up in bar of execution, and for other cognate purposes.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)