Ways of forming the feminine gender
There are three ways of forming the feminine gender.
1) By using an entirely different word.
Bachelor (masculine) / spinster or maid (feminine)
Boy / girl
Man / woman
Husband / wife
Father / mother
Brother / sister
Son / daughter
Horse / mare
Monk / nun
Buck / doe
King / queen
Cock / hen
Dog / bitch
Drake / duck
Earl / countess
Gander / geese
Gentleman / lady
Nephew / niece
Uncle / aunt
2) By adding a syllable (-ess, -ine, -trix etc) to the masculine gender
Author (masculine) / authoress (feminine)
Baron / baroness
Count / countess
Giant / giantess
Heir / heiress
Host / hostess
Lion / lioness
Mayor / mayoress
Poet / poetess
Priest / priestess
In the following -ess is added after dropping the vowel of the masculine ending.
Actor (masculine) / actress (feminine)
Enchanter / enchantress
Duke / duchess
Emperor / empress
Prince / princess
Tiger / tigress
Waiter / waitress
Master / mistress
Sorcerer / sorceress
3) By placing a word before or after
Grandfather / grandmother
Manservant / maidservant
Landlord / landlady
Peacock / peahen
Salesman / saleswoman
Washerman / washerwoman
Notes
A mayor can be a man or a woman. In British English, a mayoress is the wife of a male
mayor.
Some words ending in -ess are no longer used. Examples are: authoress and poetess. Author
and poet are now used for both men and women. The words steward and stewardess are
being replaced by other terms like flight attendant. Note that a flight attendant can be a man
or a woman.