defensatrix

Latin

Etymology

From dēfēnsō (“to defend”) +‎ -trīx.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /deː.fenˈsaː.triːks/, [d̪eːfẽːˈs̠äːt̪riːks̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /de.fenˈsa.triks/, [d̪efenˈsäːt̪riks]

Noun

dēfēnsātrīx f (genitive dēfēnsātrīcis, masculine dēfēnsātor or dēfēnsor); third declension

1. a female defender

Usage notes

In terms of form, this is the feminine counterpart of dēfēnsātor, while dēfēnstrīx is the feminine counterpart of dēfēnsor. However, it appears that dēfēnsātrīx has conventionally been used as the specifically feminine counterpart to dēfēnsor (when one is used) in the title Fidei Defensor/Defensatrix or Defensor/Defensatrix Fidei "Defender of the Faith".

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	dēfēnsātrīx	dēfēnsātrīcēs
genitive	dēfēnsātrīcis	dēfēnsātrīcum
dative	dēfēnsātrīcī	dēfēnsātrīcibus
accusative	dēfēnsātrīcem	dēfēnsātrīcēs
ablative	dēfēnsātrīce	dēfēnsātrīcibus
vocative	dēfēnsātrīx	dēfēnsātrīcēs

Related terms

• dēfēnsor

References

• “defensatrix”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• defensatrix in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.