foundress

Examples of foundress in a sentence

• And moreover, Perſons of her Sex having not been accuſtomed to be Foundreſſes of Religions, ſhe thought that hers vvould make her conſiderable in the VVorld by the ſingularity of its Original.1689, [Pierre] Jurieu, “An Article of Controversie. Reflections on a Writing Newly Sent to the Churches of France. A Continuation of the...
• For zeal like her's her ſervants vvere too ſlovv; / She vvas the firſt, vvhere need requir'd, to go; / Herſelf the foundreſs and attendant too.c. 1691 (date written), John Dryden, “Eleonora: A Panegyrical Poem, Dedicated to the Memory of the Late Countess of Abingdon”, in The...
• [I]f he had been acquainted vvith the names of the many foundreſſes and benefactreſſes in our tvvo univerſities, he vvould not have advanced ſo great an untruth.1766, “PEMBROKE, (Mary Sidney, countess of)”, in Biographium Fæmineum. The Female Worthies: Or, Memoirs of the Most Illustrious Ladies, of...
• Miss Sellon, the foundress of English sisterhoods, adopted and brought up in her convent at Devonport a little Irish waif who had been made an orphan by the outbreak of cholera in 1849.1897, [George William Erskine Russell], “Children”, in Collections & Recollections […], London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], published 1898...

Forms of foundress

Origin of foundress

From Middle English founderess, founderesse, foundress (“female founder or builder of a city; female founder or benefactor of a religious house; (figuratively) female inventor or originator; (figuratively) a source”) [and other forms]; from founder, foundere, foundour (“founder or builder of a building, city, country, etc.; builder or endower of a church, college, monastery, etc.; benefactor or patron of such an institution; charter member of a guild; first head of a religious organization; inventor, originator; (figuratively) earliest of a class of people; (figuratively) a source”) + -esse (“suffix forming female forms of words”). Foundour is derived from Anglo-Norman fundur, Old French fondeor, fondeur (“creator, instigator, founder”) (modern French fondeur), from Latin fundātor (“founder”) (rare), from fundō (“to make by smelting, found”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd- (“to pour”)) + -tor (suffix forming masculine agent nouns). The English word is analysable as founder + -ess (suffix forming female forms of words).

From founder (“one who founds or casts metals”) + -ess (suffix forming female forms of words). Founder is derived from Middle French fondeur (“owner of a foundry; ironworker in charge of smelting, founder”) (modern French fondeur), from Latin fundātor (“founder”) (rare): see further at etymology 1.

Words formed from foundress

• refoundress

Questions about foundress

What does foundress mean?

Foundress means a female founder (“one who founds or establishes”).

How do you use foundress in a sentence?

And moreover, Perſons of her Sex having not been accuſtomed to be Foundreſſes of Religions, ſhe thought that hers vvould make her conſiderable in the VVorld by the ſingularity of its Original.

What part of speech is foundress?

Foundress is a noun.

How do you pronounce foundress?

Foundress is pronounced /ˈfaʊndɹəs/ (UK).

What is the plural of foundress?

The plural of foundress is foundresses.