minoress

English

Etymology 1

From Medieval Latin minorissa.

Noun

minoress (plural minoresses)

1. (Catholicism) Alternative letter-case form of Minoress: a Poor Clare.
   • 1992, Catherine Paxton, The Nunneries of London and Its Environs in the Later Middle Ages, page 302:

     The chronicler Charles Wriothesley is the sole authority for the marriage of one Mistress Bures, a minoress of some 16 years standing, to the quondam abbot of Walden, Essex in 1538.

Etymology 2

From minor +‎ -ess.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmaɪnərɪs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

minoress (plural minoresses)

1. (rare) Synonym of girl: a female minor.
   • 2015, Jake Bible, Reign of Four, volume II:

     "Having the mistress and minoress on Aelon Prime is for their safety. If they are allowed to go to Station Thraen, then it would be like throwing them to the wolves."
     "The what?"

References

• “Minoress, n¹.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022.
• “† minoress, n².”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022.