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Glite Dictionary
proprietress

proprietress

3 7.6
A woman who owns a business like a shop or hotel
  • noun
  • /prəˈpraɪətrəs/
  • Archaic
translation icon : propietaria
  • Mrs. Runyon, the proprietress, sounded like a nice old lady and was very anxious to please.
  • the proprietress asked
  • said the proprietress
  • then the proprietress

Examples

  • "Every week he comes in," the proprietress explained to her refined customer.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • "Miss Katie Tillotson, Proprietress," Field introduced our hostess after she had vacated the room.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • "Just what is the trouble here?" But the proprietress was well on her way to the rear of the shop.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • But for the proprietress, no movement is wasted.

    Emotion Is Dead (2024)

  • Suitable attire for a proprietress.

    Loving Vincent (2017)

  • I rummaged around inside the musty place, and the proprietress, a nice little old lady, asked me if she could help.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • The proprietress was a delicate woman wearing a thin yellow silk blouse, her hair as soft as water.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • "Oh, Miss Brenna!" The proprietress of The Tortured Hare looked immensely relieved.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • For dessert, we always bought a chocolate cherry cake from the Hungarian bakery, and Eva, the wizened proprietress, gave Jacob and me Florentine cookies.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Debbie Dicker became the new proprietress of Dicker's Department Store.

Synonyms

proprietor
vsproprietress
39 4.8

A person who owns a business or building

is the female form highlighting woman ownership rather than gender neutral
businesswoman
vsproprietress
36 2.5

A woman who has an important job in a company or runs her own business

is specifically a woman who owns a business rather than simply working in it
restaurateur
vsproprietress
21 7.0

A person who owns and runs a restaurant

is the general female business owner rather than a restaurant specialist
hostess
vsproprietress
  • Archaic
15 3.7

A woman who runs an inn or small hotel and welcomes guests

is broader, applying to woman owners beyond inns or hotels
proprietarian
vsproprietress
8.4

A person who owns a business or property

is the female form stressing woman ownership not the neutral term
hotelwoman
vsproprietress
  • Archaic
7.9

A woman who owns or runs a hotel

is broader, meaning a woman who owns any type of business
restauranter
vsproprietress
6.7

A person who owns or runs a restaurant

is the female general owner rather than a restaurant specialist

Surface Forms

proprietress singular
proprietresses plural

Morphology

proprietress = proprietor (transparent) = proprietor + ess

The word is formed by the standard female agent suffix '-ess' attached to the noun 'proprietor', yielding a female owner.

Etymology

Proprietress comes from the part propriet- meaning 'own', the same root you see in property, and the ending -ess is the woman form used in words like actress. So a proprietress is a woman who owns or runs a shop, hotel, or other business.