Word.ws English Dictionary

rectoress

rectoress noun: a governess; a rectrix.

Noun

rectoress (plural rectoresses)

  1. A governess; a rectrix.
    • Diſſembling griefe, as one that knevv not ill, / So can ſhe rule the greatneſſe of her mind, / As a moſt perfect Rectoreſſe of her vvill, / Aboue the vſuall vveakneſſe of her kind; […]1605, Michaell Draiton [i.e., Michael Drayton], “The First Booke of the Barrons Warres”, in Poems: […], London: […] [Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] Ling, →OCLC, stanza 35, page 13
  2. The wife of a rector.
    • In this way the worthy Rectoress consoled herself : and her daughters sighed, and sate over the Peerage all night1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC

Forms of rectoress

pluralrectoresses
alternative formrectress

Origin of rectoress

From rector + -ess.

Questions about rectoress

What does rectoress mean?
Rectoress means a governess; a rectrix.
What part of speech is rectoress?
Rectoress is a noun.
What is the plural of rectoress?
The plural of rectoress is rectoresses.

Words near rectoress in the dictionary

  1. rector magnificus
  2. rectoral
  3. rectorate
  4. rectorates
  5. rectorectal
  6. rectoress
  7. rectoresses
  8. rectorial
  9. rectorials
  10. rectories
  11. rectorite

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: rectoress (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.

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