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ESL forum >
Ask for help > Odd words
Odd words
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zvonka.rink
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Odd words
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Hi, I would like to hear your opinion about the words for females: creatrix/creatress vs creator and mistress vs master. Would you use these words in a sentence if you wanted to point out the female gender or you woukld stick to the words denoting males? I �m looking forward to your ideas. |
15 Jun 2017
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yanogator
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Hi, Zvonka, Creatrix and Creatress aren �t words, so definitely don �t use them. We consider "creator" to be genderless, so it is fine for everyone. Since "mistress" also means a married man �s girlfriend, you have to be careful using it. When it clearly means the woman in charge, then it is fine. We really don �t see the words "master" and "mistress" all that much these days. Bruce |
15 Jun 2017
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Jayho
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Actually Bruce, surprisingly they are indeed words (see here ). However, up until now, I have never heard them. Mistress is rarely used nowadays either. If it is used, it is interpreted to mean exactly as Bruce wrote. |
15 Jun 2017
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zvonka.rink
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That is the problem. The words are in a dictionary but I as a non-native speaker don �t know if they are used as other words are. I solved the problem so that I used the word Creatrix Mother referring to Mother Earth since I needed feminine nouns. I left the word master- mistress out as the word mistress can have other connotations. Thanx. |
16 Jun 2017
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kohai
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Hmm, in this context, shouldn�t it be Mother-Creatrix (instead of Creatrix Mother)?
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16 Jun 2017
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yanogator
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Thanks, Jayho. I �ll accept OED �s word over dictionary.com and amend my statement to say that creatrix and creatress aren �t common enough to be found at dictionary.com, although they do exist. Bruce |
16 Jun 2017
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cunliffe
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I �ve never heard those words, either. By the way, �mistress � can be used in other ways. �Mistress of all she surveys � sounds fine, for example. |
16 Jun 2017
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