bearess

English

Etymology 1

From bear +‎ -ess.

Noun

bearess (plural bearesses)

1. Synonym of she-bear
   • 1842, Mary Howitt, transl., The Neighbours: A Story of Every-Day Life, volume II, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, […], translation of original by Frederika Bremer, pages 149 (chapter XV) and 200 (chapter XVIII):

     See, farther, two every-day figures sitting faithfully together like a pair of turtle doves, or a bear and his bearess. […] The poor horse drew Bear and his Bearess heavily along.

   • 1842, T[homas] Hood, “Miss Kilmansegg and Her Precious Leg. A Golden Legend.”, in The Comic Annual for 1842, London: Henry Colburn, […], section “Her Education”, page 24:

     They praised her spirit, and now and then, / The Nurse brought her own little “nevy” Ben, / To play with the future May’ress, / And when he got raps, and taps, and slaps, / Scratches, and pinches, snips, and snaps, / As if from a Tigress or Bearess, / They told him how Lords would court that hand, / And always gave him to understand, / While he rubb’d, poor soul, / His carroty poll, / That his hair had been pull’d by “a Hairess.”

   • 1844 January, John Poole, “Gentility—Vulgarity”, in The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist, volume LXX, number CCLXXVII, part the first, London: Henry Colburn, […], page 130:

     For whatever may have been the case with regard to the eminent artiste, there can be no doubt that his keeper, manager, or lessee, was himself an essentially vulgar fellow: by praising what he considered to be the gentility of Mr. Bruin, he was doing, in fact, what the essentially vulgar are prone to do—he was apprehensively insinuating to his companions his claim to the same quality for himself. As with bears and bearesses, so with men and women. The vulgar among them are the most sensitive to the quality of the tune.

   • 1914, Herman [George] Scheffauer, transl., Atta Troll, New York, N.Y.: B. W. Huebsch, translation of original by Heinrich Heine, page 141:

     Ah, what tender thoughts must glow / In the budding souls of these / Snow-white virgin bearesses / With their soft and dewy eyes ?

   • 1985, Paul Shepard, Barry Sanders, The Sacred Paw: The Bear in Nature, Myth, and Literature, Viking, →ISBN, page 114:

     The animal so driven was Callisto, the bearess. The hunter was Arcas, her son, who failed to recognize her.

Etymology 2

From bearer +‎ -ess.

Noun

bearess (plural bearesses)

1. (rare) A female bearer.
   • 1912, Frances Little, The Lady and Sada San: A Sequel to The Lady of the Decoration, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., pages 60–61:

     As it is the only spirit I possess I heed his advice and bring it back to the hotel to find the entire force standing at attention, ready to receive me. I pass on to my room with a procession of bearers and bearesses strung out behind me like the tail of a kite, anything from a tea-tray to the sugar tongs being sufficient excuse for joining the parade.

   • 1968 April 3, “Greencastle Girl Marries In Arlington, Virginia”, in The Morning Herald, volume XCIV, number 80, Hagerstown, Md.:

     Ring bearer and bearess were Larry and Mary Lynn Ayers, Springfield, Va., nephew and niece of the bridegroom.

   • 1975 December 18, “Tourists main client of China’s dwindling rickshaws”, in The Advocate, Newark, Oh., page 33, column 5:

     Some aggressively degenerate Chinese emperors and noblemen used to make a spectacle of their comely female sedan-chair bearers. (Perhaps properly: bearesses or she-bears or bearpersons.)

   • 1995 September 19, “Musgrave — Johnson”, in The Ithaca Journal, Ithaca, N.Y., page 6A, column 3:

     Ring bearess and flower girl were Emily and Elizabeth Goldeman.

   • 2007, Romano Màdera, Vero Luigi Tarca, “Philosophical Practices as the Valorization and Care for “Beautiful People””, in Philosophy as Life Path: An Introduction to Philosophical Practices, Milan: IPOC di Pietro Condemi, translation of La filosofia come stile di vita: Introduzione alle pratiche filosofiche, →ISBN, pages 186–187:

     On the other hand, we must say that what distinguishes this “concreteness” is the essential, originary distinction between the “physical” person (the bearer, or bearess of the philosophical discourse) and his or her truly being a philosopher.

   • 2007 December 2, “Hill - Ackers”, in Poughkeepsie Journal, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., page 3I, column 2:

     Natalie Ambrusko of Tonawanda, NY was a ring bearess; Katherine Ambrusko of Pittsburgh, PA and Audrey Kefor of Glastonbury, CT were flower girls, all three are cousins of the bride

   • 2014, Sam Harris, “Promises”, in Ham: Slices of a Life, Gallery Books, →ISBN, page 17:

     The bridesmaids gestured that it was time for the rings and Elizabeth, who was apparently the ring bearess, rose to the occasion.

Anagrams

• rebases