computress
computress noun: a female computer (a person employed to perform computations; one who computes).
Noun
computress (plural computresses)
- A female computer (a person employed to perform computations; one who computes).
- Picture a girl, we usually call her a computress, using a desk calculator. Suppose we had given her a sheet of paper containing several columns of numbers and suppose further we had given her a set of written instructions directing her to sum each column of numbers and then to divide each sum by...1962, The Volta Review, →ISSN, page 395
- Programming can be considered as being similar to writing instructions for a girl who is working with a desk calculator. The analogy becomes exact if you assume that such a computress has the virtues of being very quick, of never making mistakes, and following instructions perfectly—and that she...1963, Paul L. Garvin, editor, Natural Language and the Computer, New York: McGraw-Hill, page 233
Examples of computress in a sentence
- Picture a girl, we usually call her a computress, using a desk calculator.1962, The Volta Review, →ISSN, page 395:
- Compare this with today when a programmer performs the task once for all and the computress performs a single-hand computation which is sufficient for all.1963, Lloyd S. Shapley, Solutions of Compound Simple Games, Rand Corporation, page 14:
- When they began using computers, their classification changed from computress to the more esteemed title of programmer.1984, M. D. Fagen, G. E. Schindler, editors, A History of Engineering and Science in the Bell System […] , volume 5, Bell Telephone...
- The female computers worked in a separate lab, or at least in a separated part of the room. […] During their rare exchanges, though, the men often referred to them as ‘computresses.’[2019, Karin Hilck, Lady Astronauts, Lady Engineers, and Naked Ladies […] , Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 249:
Forms of computress
| plural | computresses |
|---|
Origin of computress
From computer + -ess.
Questions about computress
- What does computress mean?
- Computress means a female computer (a person employed to perform computations; one who computes).
- How do you use computress in a sentence?
- Picture a girl, we usually call her a computress, using a desk calculator.
- What part of speech is computress?
- Computress is a noun.
- What is the plural of computress?
- The plural of computress is computresses.
Words near computress in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: computress (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “computress.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/computress. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.