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When we have a specifically feminine version of a noun which ends with the -ess suffix, like in huntress, sorceress, anchoress, etc. Is it always wrong to use, like, hunter for a female hunter too or sorcerer for a female sorcerer too and so on?

Does it always work like in the emperor and empress case, where the gender is somehow clearly distinct (at least for me) ?

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  • I was not sure if it was more proper to post it on English Language & Usage, but since I'm no native speaker, I thought it would better fit here.
    – Pedro V. G.
    Commented Apr 16, 2016 at 9:32
  • Both ELU and ELL want you to do your own research before asking a question and show us what you found. What did you find through your own research?
    – user24743
    Commented Apr 16, 2016 at 10:11
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    Because of women's liberation, English is slowly doing away with feminine versions of this kind of word. People still use empress and countess, but many people today would be insulted if you called them a authoress or a huntress. And stewardess is being replaced by flight attendant.
    – Peter Shor
    Commented Apr 16, 2016 at 10:17
  • @PeterShor - It seems like 30 years ago, people were more careful about making the distinction between actor and actress; nowadays, I notice actor increasingly applied to both men and women in the acting profession. (I don't have any hard data to support that – aside from maybe this ngram – but that's my perception).
    – J.R. ♦
    Commented Apr 16, 2016 at 10:32
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    @John "The only correct form is the 'ess' form for such nouns": not at all. It depends on the word. These days, to speak of a woman out in the woods with a rifle stalking game as a "huntress" is extremely unusual.
    – phoog
    Commented May 20, 2020 at 4:43

2 Answers 2

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Grammar

I think the usage of these female nouns may be idiomatic. Idiomatic means that there is no firm grammar rule and you have to learn each one on a case-by-case basis.

Examples

  • huntress - "hunter" for male, "hunter" for female. The word "huntress" may exist in the dictionary, but I've never heard it used.
  • sorceress - "sorcerer" for male, "sorceress" for female.
  • anchoress - I do not know what an anchoress is. This must be a very rare word.
  • empress - "emperor" for male, "empress" for female

http://wordinfo.info/unit/4432/s:a%20suffix%20that%20forms%20nouns%20meaning%20a%20female

  • lioness - "lion" for male, "lion" or "lioness" for female
  • tigress - "tiger" for male, "tiger" for female. The word "tigress" may exist in the dictionary, but I've never heard it used.
  • heiress - "heir" for male, "heir" or "heiress" for female
  • hostess - "host" for male, "hostess" for female
  • sculptress - "sculptor" for male, "sculptor" for female. The word "sculptress" may exist in the dictionary, but I've never heard it used
  • actress - "actor" for male, "actress" for female

I think that whether or not the female -ess noun is used just depends on whether or not native speakers use that word frequently in the language. If they don't, then they use the male noun for both genders.

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  • I'm assuming that an "anchoress" would be a female news anchor.
    – J.R. ♦
    Commented Apr 16, 2016 at 21:16
  • Supposedly,"anchoress" is a female "anchorite"
    – Pedro V. G.
    Commented Apr 16, 2016 at 22:33
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There are two other suffixes I can think of that I didn't see mentioned yet:

First is "-trix" Best examples I can think of would be aviator/aviatrix and dominator/dominatrix. Other examples, while somewhat rare in contemporary usage, and generally limited to legal or court related usage, are executor/executrix and administrator/administratrix (of a will or an estate). Side note: this is the root of the nickname Trixy which, by definition, is exclusive to women.

Second is "-ette" Examples include bachelor/bachelorette or Drum Major/(Drum) Majorette. There's suffragette, which comes from suffragist (and was originally a derogatory term.) Also, it was used to create names of groups of women like the Rockettes (based off of Rockefeller Center) or in band names like the Marvelettes or Ray Charles and the Raylettes. Note: "ette" also means diminutive, and its usage usually carried those connotations, so it has generally fallen out of favor (aside from the TV show, I believe). Contemporary use of the -ette suffix for a female would be highly controversial if not borderline insulting.

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  • Good answer! There's also moderator/moderatrix in the -trix words.
    – Rayan Khan
    Commented May 30, 2021 at 7:51

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