Where does “poetess” come from?
Poetess, the feminine form of poet, derives from Old French poete, Latin poeta, and Ancient Greek ποιητής, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -teh₂ts, an agent noun suffix.
poetess (English): A female poet
Definitions
- A female poet
Ancestry of “poetess”, step by step
poetess traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English poet
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | poet | A person who writes poems; A person with a... |
| 2 | Middle English | poete | poet |
| 3 | Middle French | poëte | Alternative form of poete |
| 4 | Old French | poete | poet |
| 5 | Latin | poēta | poet |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | ποιητής | A maker, inventor, lawgiver; The composer of a... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | -τής | Appended to verbs to form agent nouns |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | πεῖρα | trial, experiment, attempt |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |