doctrix

English

Etymology

From Middle English doctrice, from Latin doctrīx (“female teacher”), feminine form of doctor (“teacher”). The "female physician" sense is from the English doctor (which is from the Latin doctor) medical sense, analyzed as a feminine form of the English word; equivalent to doctor +‎ -trix.

Noun

doctrix (plural doctrices or doctrixes) (obsolete)

1. A female medical doctor, physician.
   • 1664, Matthew Mackaile, Moffet-Well, or, A Topographico-Spagyricall Description of the Minerall Wells, at Moffet in Annandale of Scotland, Edinburgh: […] Robert Brown, pages 173–174:

     Secondly, There is a Doctrix, concerning whom I will relate unto you these most certain stories. […] A sickly Rustick came unto her, complaining of a pain in his neck, and betwixt his shoulders. She affirmed his disease to be the Ripples in his neck, and essayed to cure him thus; […] A Rustick woman came unto her, to get her advice concerning the Gravell, wherewith she was much troubled. The Doctrix gave her this advice, for causing the stone fall down into the neck of the bladder, You must stand leaning forwards with your two hands, upon the arms of a great chair, setting your feet far asunder; then let your Husband take a broad shovel, and give you four or five good clanks or strokes upon the buttocks with it.

   • [1664], Alexander Pitcarne, The Spiritual Sacrifice, or, A Treatise Wherein Several Weighty Questions and Cases Concerning the Saints Communion with God in Prayer are Propounded and Practically Improved, Edinburgh: […] Robert Brown, page 107:

     […]; thus they have made Gallus their geese-god, Wendilin their sheep-god, Eulogius their horse-god, Antonius their swine-god, &c. Rochus their plague-physician and protector, Appollonia their tooth-ach doctrix, John a god of the Epilepsy, Eutropius of the Hydropsy, and Dame Catharine is lady of the mid-wives, &c.

   • 1693, Paul Vergerius, transl., The Royal Cuckold, or, Great Bastard Giving an Account of the Birth and Pedegree of Lewis le Grand, the First French King of That Name and Race: A Tragy-Comedy, London, page 2:

     Scold on; I thought you were a Physician. / A Doctrix for the Devil; / And all your Receipts bitter as Gall.

   • 1696, Gideon Harvey, A Treatise of the Small-Pox and Measles Describing Their Nature, Causes, and Signs, Siagnostick and Prognostick, in a Different Way to What Hath Hitherto Been Known, London: […] W. Freeman, pages 69–71:

     […] the Nurse-Doctrices ordinarily cure such Patients by one night’s sweat with a half dozen spoonfuls of Poppy-water, and three or four of Plague or Treacle-water, and the most knowing of their Profession will add the bigness of a Nutmeg of Diascordium, and this to be given to any Red-gummer of twenty years of age, or thereabouts. […] They appear either in a greater number, or lesser; of which latter the bigger are call’d by the Doctrices the Swine-pox, and the lesser the Chicken-pox.

   • 1715–1745, Katherine Thomson, Memoirs of the Jacobites of 1715 and 1745: John Erskine, Earl of Mar. James Radcliffe, Earl of Derwentwater. The Master of Sinclair. Cameron of Lochiel, published 1845, page 118:

     I wish she would get the Doctrix to send a new dose to the patient she knows of, for there was a little too much of one of the ingredients in the last, which toke away the effect of the whole. […] The dose must be carefully made up, and no appearance of its comeing from any other hand but the Doctrix’ own.

   • 1875, Belgravia, volume 25, pages 478–479:

     For I observe that at least two ladies (all honour and success to them, say I) have acquired the title of Doctor or Doctrix, and six more, I see, are at this moment engaged in dissecting the human subject at Edinburgh. […] Notoriously is this the case regarding the fair ‘Doctrixes,’ faith in whom appears to be ‘conspicuous by its absence’ amongst female patients.

   • 1878, Family Herald, page 412:

     One specialist asked her a grave question as to an eye case, another as to the brain, a third as to excision of the hip-joint, a fourth on tuberculosis, and so on. In ten minutes the doctrix had settled points that had taken those grave gray heads years to comprehend, and had fallen into as many pits.

   • 1885, Andrew Edgar, Old Church life in Scotland, lectures, page 270:

     In 1746 a “doctrix” was consulted in Galston about the recovery of a sick child. The “doctrix” attributed the child’s illness to a neighbour who “had a bad eye, and could not help it.”

2. A female teacher.
   • 1603, A Treatise of Three Conversions, page 11:

     Alice Driuer martyr. This was the doctrix of the forſaid weauer, who was ſo malepart and contumelious before the iudges, as firſt her eares were cutt of, for callinge Q. Mary Iezabell.

   • 1620, A Little Treatise Concerning Trial of Spirits, [Lancashire]: [Birchley Hall Press?], page 29:

     Alice driuer, a famous Doctrice, Nouember 22.

   • 1631, Rich[ard] Crakanthorp, Vigilius Dormitans Romes Seer Overseene· Or A treatise of the Fift General Councell Held at Constantinople, Anno 553. under Iustinian the Emperour, in the Time of Pope Vigilius, London: […] M[iles] F[lesher] for Robert Mylbourne, page 303:

     […]; she forshooth would be a Doctrix in the Councell;

   • 1642, Samuell Rutherfurd, A Peaceable and Temperate Plea for Pauls Presbyterie in Scotland, or, A Modest and Brotherly Dispute of the Government of the Church of Scotland, […], London: […] Iohn Bartlet, page 242:

     […]; but onely Thyatira is charged for ſuffering Jezabell to teach, if they were one Church, the whole would have beene gulty of the ſinnes of the part, the whole being negligent to diſciplinate the part, but every Church is rebuked for it’s own fault, Ergo, every one was independent within it ſelfe. So M. Best, Author of Preſb. gover. exam. and the femall doctrix Childley.

   • 1700, George White, D. D. An Advertisement, Anent the Reading of the Books of Antonia Borignion, Aberdeen: […] John Forbes, page 87:

     If A. B. had any Precedent, it was the Spanish Nun Teresa, who yet pretended not to be the singular or sole Doctrix of the whole World, as A. B. did.

   • 1735, The Occaſional Tinclarian, in a Letter to Sir John de Graham, Knight of the Thistle, page 17:

     Next Day, I did nothing but ſpent my Time in Plotties with my Neigbours, the Bow-Wives; particularly Mris. Campbel the School-Miſtreſs, and her Doctrix Mary Weir.

   • 1750, “Eleanora Grant appointed by the Magistrates Schoolmistress of Aberdeen”, in Aberdeen Journal; republished as “Extracts from the Aberdeen Journal”, in Antiquarian Gleanings from Aberdeenshire Records, compiled by Gavin Turreff, Aberdeen: George & Robert King;  […], 1859, page 243:

      […]—these are, therefore, advertising all who incline to be taught any manner of needle-work, washing, clear-starching, and many other parts of education, fit for accomplishing a gentlewoman, that they can have access to enter to the said Miss Eleanora Grant’s school in a fortnight hence, where they will be educate as above, and genteelly used by her and her doctrix.

   • 1885, The Law Magazine and Review: For Both Branches of the Legal Profession at Home and Abroad, page 311:

     It may not be without interest for Signor De Sio to note that, whatever may be the ultimate decision of the Courts of Italy on the special point raised in the case of Signorina Lidia Poët, of Turin, in regard to admission to the Bar, the power of creating “Doctrices” recorded by Strykius as lawfully exercised in his day, has lately been revived in Ireland, and gracefully exercised in the exalted person of the Princess of Wales, now Doctrix in the Faculty of Music of the Royal University of Ireland.

   • 1904, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, Sessional papers. Inventory control record 1:

     The letter under your cover to the doctrix daughter (Gold’s sister, i.e., Lady James Drummond) I caused a trusty hand deliver to Mr. H[a]II, so it is not to be doubted but it will go safe to the lady’s hands.

   • 1907, Blackwood's Magazine, volume 182, page 68:

     Other items in the account are payments made to the Doctrix of the school, drink-money for the tailor’s men, sequins for head-suits, and a “baberick” or baldric (i.e., a chain for the neck).

   • 1914, John Alexander Inglis, The Family of Inglis of Auchindinny and Redhall, page 97:

     To Mrs. Cumming for a Quarter’s Pay^t for Katie for sewing etc. 10^sh and to the Doctrix 1^sh . £0 11 0 / For the Doctor of the Writing School . 0 1 0

Synonyms

• (female doctor): doctoress, doctress (both archaic), Drss. (rare, obsolete)

Latin

Etymology

From doceō (“I teach”) +‎ -trīx (“-ess”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈdok.triːks/, [ˈd̪ɔkt̪riːks̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈdok.triks/, [ˈd̪ɔkt̪riks]

Noun

doctrīx f (genitive doctrīcis, masculine doctor); third declension

1. teacher, instructor, trainer (female)

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	doctrīx	doctrīcēs
genitive	doctrīcis	doctrīcum
dative	doctrīcī	doctrīcibus
accusative	doctrīcem	doctrīcēs
ablative	doctrīce	doctrīcibus
vocative	doctrīx	doctrīcēs

Synonyms

• doctorissa

Related terms

• doctor

Descendants

• → English: doctrix

References

• “doctrix”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• doctrix in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• doctrix in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[1], pre-publication website, 2005-2016