后缀:-ess [名词后缀]
表示女性(人)或雌性(动物)
citizeness 女公民
manageress 女经理
poetess 女诗人
authoress 女作家
mayoress 女市长,市长夫人
governess 女统治者
Jewess 犹太女人
tailoress 女裁缝
hostess 女主人
murderess 女凶手
shepherdess 牧羊女
goddess 女神
lioness 母狮
leopardess 母豹
eagless 雌鹰
millionairess 女百分富翁
giantess 女巨人
astronautess 女太空人
heiress 女继承人
patroness 女保护人
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