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Origin and history of -ess

-ess

fem. suffix, from French -esse, from Late Latin -issa, from Greek -issa (cognate with Old English fem. agent suffix -icge); rare in classical Greek but more common later, in diakonissa "deaconess" and other Church terms picked up by Latin.

Entries linking to -ess

actress(n.)

1580s, "female who does something;" see actor + -ess; stage sense is from 1700. Sometimes French actrice was used. Cockeram (English Dictionarie, 1623) has for actor "A stage-player, or one doing a thing," but for actresse, "A woman doer." Related: Actressy.

adulteress(n.)

also adultress, "woman guilty of adultery," an early 17c. substitution for earlier avoutresse (late 14c.), agent noun in fem. form from obsolete verb adulter "commit adultery" (see adulterer), with fem. ending -ess.

  • anchoress
  • authoress
  • demoness
  • Druidess
  • enchantress
  • giantess
  • goddess
  • governess
  • heiress
  • hostess
  • huntress
  • laundress
  • lioness
  • maness
  • ogress
  • poetess
  • priestess
  • prophetess
  • See All Related Words (27)
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More to explore

governess
mid-15c., governesse, "female protector, tutelary goddess," a shortening of governouresse "queen, woman who rules; tutelary goddess" (late 14c.), from Old French governeresse "female ruler or administrator" (see governor + -ess). The Latin fem, form was gubernatrix. In the sense
hostess
late 13c., "woman who keeps an inn or public hotel," from host (n.1) + -ess, or from Old French ostesse, hostesse "hostess; servant; guest" (Modern French hôtesse). Old French also had ostelaine; the Latin word was hospita. Meaning "woman who presides at a dinner party, etc." rec
fortress
French -ess from Latin -itia also is in duress, largesse, riches, also obsolete rudesse, "lack of cultivation" (early 15c...
diamond
mid-14c., diamaunt, diamond, "extremely hard and refractive precious stone made of pure or nearly pure carbon," from Old French diamant, from Medieval Latin diamantem (nominative diamas), from Vulgar Latin *adiamantem (which was subsequently altered by influence of the many Greek
measure
early 14c., mesuren, "to exercise moderation;" mid-14c., "to deal out or divide up by measure," also "to ascertain spatial dimensions, quantity, or capacity of by comparison with a standard;" from Old French mesurer "measure; moderate, curb" (12c.), from Late Latin mensurare "to
body
Middle English bodi, from Old English bodig "trunk of a man or beast; the whole physical structure of a human or animal; material frame, material existence of a human; main or principal part of anything," related to Old High German botah, but otherwise of unknown origin. Not else
altruism
1853, "unselfishness, devotion to the welfare of others, the opposite of egoism," from French altruisme, coined or popularized 1830 by French philosopher Auguste Comte, with -ism + autrui (Old French altrui) "of or to others," from Latin alteri, dative of alter "other" (see alter
literature
early 15c., "book-learning," from Latin literatura/litteratura "learning, a writing, grammar," originally "writing formed with letters," from litera/littera "alphabetic letter" also "an epistle, writing, document; literature, great books; science, learning" (see letter (n.1)). In
simile
"a comparison of two things in rhetoric or poetry," late 14c., from Latin simile "a like thing; a comparison, likeness, parallel," neuter of similis "like, resembling, of the same kind" (see similar). They must have notable points in common, both things must be mentioned, and the
Kyrie eleison
early 13c., a Greek liturgical formula adopted untranslated into the Latin mass, literally "lord have mercy" (Psalms cxxii.3, Matthew xv.22, xvii.15, etc.). From kyrie, vocative of kyrios "lord, master" (see church (n.)) + eleeson, aorist imperative of eleo "I have pity on, show

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Dictionary entries near -ess
  • espresso
  • esprit
  • espy
  • -esque
  • esquire
  • -ess
  • essay
  • essayist
  • essence
  • Essene
  • essential
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