sempstress

9.9

A woman who makes or repairs clothes for a living

noun
/ˈsɛmptrəs/

: modista

This person, it developed, was the village sempstress, recruited to repair the deficiencies of my wardrobe by adjusting the fit of a dress obtained on short notice from some local connection of the innkeeper's.

Examples

The skilled sempstress carefully stitched the seams of the elegant dress for the upcoming wedding.
After finishing her training, the young sempstress opened her own shop and began making custom dresses.
The best-known version was Richard Redgrave's The Sempstress (sic), 1846, The Forbes Magazine Collection, New York.

Academic text (1993)
The local sempstress is known for her attention to detail and ability to mend even the most delicate fabrics.

Synonyms

tailor

vssempstress

88 2.3

A person who makes or fixes clothes so they fit

focuses on making or mending dresses rather than outer garments like suits

seamstress

vssempstress

25 3.6

A woman who sews clothes for a living

is focused only on making or mending dresses for a living

dressmaker

vssempstress

9 3.5

A person who makes dresses and other women's clothes to order

is more about making or mending dresses in general rather than custom orders

couturier

vssempstress

2 9.9

A designer who makes stylish, custom clothes for women

is more about making or mending dresses by hand than designing fashion

garment-worker

vssempstress

1 3.5

A person who makes clothes in a factory or workshop

is a woman who makes or mends dresses independently, not factory work

needlewoman

vssempstress

Archaic

1 7.0

A woman who sews and fixes clothes for a living

focuses specifically on dresses rather than on all types of clothing

seamster

vssempstress

Archaic

9.1

A person who sews or fixes clothes for a living

refers specifically to a woman who makes or mends dresses for a living

dressman

vssempstress

8.7

A man who designs and makes clothes for women like dresses

refers to a woman who makes or mends dresses rather than to a man

garmentmaker

vssempstress

4.9

A person who makes clothes by sewing

is limited to making or mending dresses rather than making garments generally

sartor

vssempstress

Archaic

9.9

A person who makes and alters clothes

is specific to a woman who makes or mends dresses, not a general garment maker

modiste

vssempstress

Archaic

9.9

A person who makes or sells fashionable women's clothes such as dresses and hats

is a working woman who makes or mends dresses rather than selling fashionable items

Surface Forms

sempstress singular

sempstresses plural

Morphology

sempstress = seamstress (semi-transparent) = seam + stress

The target is essentially a spelling variant of 'seamstress', so the relation to the base is orthographic rather than a standard productive derivation.

Etymology

Sempstress is an old form of seamstress, built from seam ('the line where pieces of cloth are joined') and the feminine ending -stress (as in actress). So a sempstress is literally a woman who sews or mends cloth, which is why it means a woman who makes or repairs dresses.