matron

n. house mother, dorm-mother; woman; married woman; head nurse; supervisor; mother

Matron is the job title of a very senior nurse in several countries, including the United Kingdom.
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(n.)
A wife or a widow, especially, one who has borne children; a woman of staid or motherly manners.
  

(n.)
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.
  

A married woman, generally an elderly married woman.

By the laws of England, when a widow feigns herself with child, in order to exclude the next heir, and a supposititious birth is expected, then, upon the writ de ventre inspiciendo, a jury of women is to be impanneled to try the question, whether with child or not. So when a woman was sentenced to death, and she declared herself to be quick with child, a jury of matrons is impanneled to try whether she be or be not with child.
   

This entry contains material from Bouvier's Legal Dictionary, a work published in the 1850's.

Noun
1. a married woman (usually middle-aged with children) who is staid and dignified
(hypernym) wife, married woman
2. a wardress in a prison
(hypernym) wardress
3. a woman in charge of nursing in a medical institution
(synonym) head nurse
(hypernym) nurse