suitressn.
/ˈsuːtrᵻs/, /ˈsjuːtrᵻs/, U.S. /ˈsutrəs/ Originally: a female petitioner or suppliant (see suitor n. 4a). Later chiefly: a woman who is pursuing a relationship with a particular person (esp. a man), with a view to marriage; a female wooer.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > request > one who requests > [noun] > female
oratrice1432
oratrixa1469
oratress1587
invitress1617
solicitress1631
solicitrix1637
suitress1691
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > seeking marriage > [noun] > seeking hand in marriage > one who > woman
suitress1807
1691 J. Bancroft King Edward III iv. 36 Well, my fair suitress, whither does this tend?
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Iliad in Iliad & Odyssey I. i. 686 I noticed her a suitress at thy knees.
1807 Gentleman's Mag. May 403/1 Some bachelors of my acquaintance have assured me, that if they were to be courted, they should accept the offer of the suitoresses with a more easy mind than if they themselves had paid their addresses to ladies ‘of a delicate and restrained condition’.
1894 Daily Tel. 1 Dec. 5/4 Both suitresses are of some position and worldly prospects.
2018 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 25 Feb. ar4 ‘Everlasting’ casts a tech tycoon..as the show's first female suitress, who arrives with an M.B.A.-approved method for landing a husband.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2020; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1691