Dated term for a female domestic servant, common in historical or period contexts. In modern Japanese, メイド or 家政婦 are more typical.
In merchant houses of the Edo period, maidservants did the housework.
servants; maids and manservants
Compound of 下 (ge, 'lower') and 女 (jo, 'woman'), literally 'lower woman', reflecting historical social hierarchy. The exact historical derivation is uncertain.