-ess suff 後綴 (with ns forming ns 與名詞結合構成名詞) female 女的; 雌性的; 母的; 牝: lioness actress. -ess, NOTE ON USAGE 用法 The `feminine' suffixes -ess and -ette, in such words as poetess and usherette, are frequently avoided today, because it is unnecessary to make a distinction between men and women doing the same job. *-ess和-ette這兩個後綴表示｀女的＇之意（如poetess和usherette）, 現在已盡量避免使用, 因無必要將做同一工作的人區分男女. The same word can often be used to apply to both sexes 同一詞往往用於男女均可 author, host, manager, usher. The use of an alternative word is sometimes possible; for example, instead of headmaster or headmistress we can use headteacher. 有時可用其他詞替換, 如用headteacher而不用headmaster或headmistress.