provocatrix

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin provocatrix, from provoco +‎ -trix.

Noun

provocatrix (plural provocatrices)

1. A female provocator.
   • 2012 November 2, Christopher Orr, “'Wreck-It Ralph' Aims for Pixar ... and Misses”, in The Atlantic‎^[1]:

     Rounding out the primary characters is professional provocatrix Sarah Silverman, who voices Vanellope von Schweetz […].

   • 2013 June 1, Vanessa Friedman, “Lunch with the FT: Franca Sozzani”, in Financial Times‎^[2]:

     In the Condé Nast universe, […] former French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld was the provocatrix; but Sozzani has become the activist – though you’d never know it to look at her.

   • 2015 July 30, Ted Scheinman, “Why does Camille Paglia love Donald Trump?”, in Pacific Standard‎^[3]:

     The famously contrarian feminist scholar and provocatrix is gracing her longtime employer, Salon, with a three-part interview this week.

Latin

Etymology

From provoco +‎ -trix.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /proː.u̯oˈkaː.triːks/, [proːu̯ɔˈkäːt̪riːks̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /pro.voˈka.triks/, [provoˈkäːt̪riks]

Noun

prōvocātrīx f (genitive prōvocātrīcis, masculine prōvocātor); third declension

1. (Late Latin) challenger; temptress

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	prōvocātrīx	prōvocātrīcēs
genitive	prōvocātrīcis	prōvocātrīcum
dative	prōvocātrīcī	prōvocātrīcibus
accusative	prōvocātrīcem	prōvocātrīcēs
ablative	prōvocātrīce	prōvocātrīcibus
vocative	prōvocātrīx	prōvocātrīcēs

Related terms

• prōvocātor

Descendants

• → English: provocatrix

References

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