murderess

• murdress

From Middle English morderes, from Old French morderesse, moeurdrese; equivalent to murder +‎ -ess.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /mɜːdəˈɹɛs/, /ˈmɜːdəɹɪs/, /ˈmɜːdɹɪs/, /-ɹəs/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmɝdəɹəs/
• Rhymes: -ɛs, -ɜː(ɹ)dɹɪs
• Homophone: murderous (one pronunciation)
• Hyphenation: mur‧der‧ess

murderess (plural murderesses, masculine murderer)

1. (dated) female equivalent of murderer: a woman who commits murder.
   • 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, “Triumph”, in She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC, page 228:

     ‘[…] Yet am I very fair, Kallikrates!’ / ‘I hate thee, murdress, and I have no wish to see thee. […]’

   • 1992 March 4, Elizabeth Grice, “Why a spell inside gave fresh hope to ‘Tart Number One’”, in The Daily Telegraph, number 42,516, London, page 15, column 1:

     “All the murderesses I met in prison”, she [Kathryn George-Harries] says lightly, “had committed their crimes in domestic arguments. They chose the gun. I chose to go for the Meissen. Nobody’s worth doing life for.”

   • 2014 October 5, Matt Rudd, “Scandal! Horror! Homicide! Murders by gaslight”, in The Times‎, London: News UK, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 6 October 2023:

     Our maniacal murderess filled a bonnet box and a Gladstone bag with all but the head and the foot of poor Mrs Thomas, and threw them from Richmond bridge.