词根词缀:-ess
【来源及含义】Greek -issa > Late Latin -issa > Old French -esse > Middle English -esse: a suffix that forms nouns meaning a female +++, as in lioness, tigress, heiress, hostess, and sculptress
【相关描述】When -ess is added to a noun ending in -tor, -ter, the vowel before r is generally elided (eliminated or left out), as in actress (actor + -ess); and such a derivative with the ending -tress (often equivalent to French ) is usually considered a reduced form of Latin -trix, -tricem and popularly regarded as the equivalent of -tor + -ess.
In Middle English many words in -esse were adopted from French; such as, countess, duchess, mistress, and princess, or formed on nouns in -er; such as, enchantress and sorceress.
The suffix -ess is diminishing from English usage, with trends or tendencies toward avoiding any unnecessary references to gender or sexual categorizing (feminine or masculine.
The suffixes -er and -or are no longer gender-specific in modern English: an author or manager, like a doctor or writer, may be male or female, so the words authoress and manageress are considered redundant.
Some -ess words remain in use; for example, heiress and actress, although actor is being used more often now for both men and women.
【同源单词】actress, adulteress, adventuress, ancestress, auditress, aviatress
词根词缀:sorc-, sors-, sort-
【来源及含义】Latin: lot, fortune, fate
【相关词根词缀】 Cross references of word families that are related directly, or indirectly, to: "divination, diviner; seer, soothsayer, prophecy, prophesy, prophet": augur-; auspic-; fa-, fate; Fates in action; futur-; -mancy; omen; -phemia; vati-. A cross reference of other word family units that are related directly, or indirectly, to: "chance, luck, fate": aleato-; auspic-; cad-; fortu-; -mancy; serendipity; temer-; tycho-.
【同源单词】concert, consortium, ensorcell, lot, sorcerer, sorceress