Spinster tags "spinster" (meaning "...unmarried woman, typically an older woman beyond the usual age for marriage") as "derogatory" and "a good example of the way in which a word acquires strong connotations to the extent that it can no longer be used in a neutral sense." The 1828 and 1913 editions of "Merriam Webster's Dictionary" defined spinster in two ways: "1. A woman who spins, or whose occupation is to spin. 2. Law: An unmarried or single woman." By the 1800s, the term had evolved to include women who chose not to marry. During that century middle-class spinsters, as well as
Certificates of Claim and incorporated A L Bruce Estates Ltd. The four companies (including African Lakes) together held 22 of the 59 Certificates of Claim issued relating to land: these comprised around 95% of all the land alienated by these certificates. Of the remaining Certificates of Claim, 18 were granted to missions, generally for small areas of land although the largest was for the islands of Likoma District. The remaining 19 Certificates of Claim were for a number of estates: 17 were in the medium size range (2,000 to 12,000 acres). The two larger estates were both soon broken up by sales into