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ess

ess

9.9
The name of the letter S or an ending that makes a word mean a woman
  • noun
  • /ɛs/
translation icon : s
  • The Hair-ess, right?

Examples

  • The suffix -ess is commonly added to denote female versions of certain nouns, such as 'actress' and 'waitress.'

  • Perhaps the host/ess anticipated Dana's behavior beforehand and was prepared!

    Blog text (22)
  • Your host(ess) should try to provide entertainment, but he/she isn't a dancing bear.

    Blog text (22)
  • In addition, the principal phoneme is usually prominent in the letter name (e.g., em, eff, or ess).

    Academic text (2012)
  • That's Exp or ESS vpn.com unsub unsub.

  • Words like 'goddess' and 'princess' showcase how the suffix -ess transforms masculine nouns into feminine forms.

  • In English, many feminine nouns are easily formed by attaching the suffix -ess to their masculine counterparts.

Synonyms

S
vsess
3 1.0

The nineteenth letter of the English alphabet

also serves as a suffix forming feminine nouns
-ess
vsess
  • Specialized
7.5

An ending added to a noun that shows a female person or animal

also names a letter in the English alphabet

Compounds

-ess
  • Specialized
7.5

An ending added to a noun that shows a female person or animal

Surface Forms

ess singular
esses plural

Etymology

The word ess can also mean the ending -ess that shows a 'female' person or role, as in 'actress' and 'princess'. This ending comes from the idea of adding the letter 'S' to a word, so adding -ess to 'actor' gives 'actress'.