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Glite Dictionary
poetess

poetess

2 8.1
A woman who writes poems
  • noun
  • /ˈpoʊɪtɛs/
  • Archaic
translation icon : poetisa
  • Maria, a respected poetess, often writes about nature and love.
  • poetess of punk

Examples

  • But Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was a poetess, and I am not.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • You've got that whole coffee house poetess thing going on.

    Stuck in the Suburbs (2004)

  • In the words of the poetess of Yemen, she sang:

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Thinking of a poetess, I had imagined a fragile, ethereal young woman with long dark hair and a flowing white dress.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Corinne is both an adored public poetess and a travel guide, both talented and free to travel.

    Academic text (1996)

  • The Poetess Rachel (as she is known in Israel) is like a cross between Whitman, Frost, and Dickinson.

    Blog text (12)

  • My headache last night prevented me from accompanying Randolph to dear Crabb-Robinson's for a dinner honoring the poetess Christabel LaMotte.

    Possession (2002)

  • The renowned poetess read her latest work at the literary festival.

  • In her new collection, the poetess explores themes of loss and hope.

Synonyms

poet
vspoetess
567 2.2

A person who writes words in a musical way that creates images to show feelings

refers specifically to a woman who writes poems

Surface Forms

poetess singular
poetesses plural

Morphology

poetess = poet (transparent) = poet + ess

Formed by adding the feminine suffix '-ess' to 'poet', yielding 'female poet'; meaning is directly derived.

Etymology

The word poetess starts with poet, which comes from an old Greek word meaning 'to make', so a poet is a 'maker' of poems. The -ess part is a female ending you see in words like actress, so poetess means a woman who writes poetry.