-ess

English

Etymology

From French -esse, from Late Latin -issa, from Ancient Greek -ισσα.

Suffix

-ess (plural -esses)

1. Suffix appended to words to make a female form.

   authoress

   goddess

   lioness

   actress

   princess

   shepherdess

Usage notes

• Professions ending in -ter or -tor change to -tr when this suffix is added.

  A female sempster is a sempstress; a female actor is an actress.

• This suffix tends to be regarded as sexist and as such is starting to fall into disuse; a single, gender-neutral term is preferred by many.

  Glenda Jackson is a famous actor.

• Depending on etymology, other feminine affixes are used; see synonyms.

Synonyms

• (female suffix): -a, -ette, -euse, -or, -rix, she-

Derived terms

[+] English words suffixed with -ess

Translations

female suffix

Breton: -ez (br) f. Burmese: မ (my) (ma.) Danish: -inde (da) Finnish: -tar (fi), -tär (fi) French: -esse (fr) f.

German: -in (de) f. Greek: -ισσα (el) (-issa) f. Irish: ban- (ga) Swedish: -inna (sv), -essa (sv), -ska (sv) Welsh: -es (cy) f.

References

• “-ess” in the Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper, 2001