Meanings
minoress1
plural minoresses
- CatholicismAlternative letter-case form of Minoress: a Poor Clare.
The chronicler Charles Wriothesley is the sole authority for the marriage of one Mistress Bures, a minoress of some 16 years standing, to the quondam abbot of Walden, Essex in 1538.
1992, Catherine Paxton, The Nunneries of London and Its Environs in the Later Middle Ages, page 302
minoress2
Minoress3
plural Minoresses · alternative minoress
- CatholicismSynonym of Poor Clare: a nun of the Order of Saint Clare.
These Nunnes were of the order of S. Clare, and called Minoresses.
1631, John Weever, Ancient Funerall Monuments, page 7552 more examples
Also I. bequethe to the Religiouse Wommen the Menouresses dwellyngge witħoute algate of london̄, C. s. to be departed amonge [hem] by euene porcion̄, for to synge and rede and to praye diuine seruice for my lordes soule Sir Thomas West, and myn, and for alle christene soules, and for the estates of Thomas my sone, and Iohane his wyf, and for her children.
Also, I bequeath to the Religious Women, the Minoresses, dwelling outside Aldgate of London, 100 shillings to be divided equally among [them] by even portions, so that they may sing and read and pray divine service for the soul of my lord, Sir Thomas West, and mine, and for all Christian souls, and for the well-being of Thomas my son, and Joanne his wife, and for her children.
1395, Alice West, Testamentum Domine Alicie West (in Middle English), page 7The chief house of the Clares in England stood near Aldgate; it was built by Blanche, queen of Navarre, and her husband Edmund, earl of Lancaster, Leicester and Darby, son to Henry III. and brother to Edward I. These nuns were Urbanists, and enjoyed revenues. They were called Clares or Minoresses, and their house the Minories...
1759, Alban Butler, The Lives of the... Saints, volume IV, page 87Synonyms: Poor Clare
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of girl: a female minor.
nounSynonym of Poor Clare: a nun of the Order of Saint Clare.
Origin
minoress · noun
- Medieval Latinminorissa
- Englishminoress
From Medieval Latin minorissa.
More words from Medieval Latin
Full word history & related roots →Minoress · noun
- Medieval LatinFratres Minores“Lesser Brothers”
- Middle Frenchsereur
- Normanfrere-menouresse
- Latinminor“little, lesser”
- Medieval Latinminorissa
- EnglishMinoress
From Medieval Latin minorissa, from Latin minor (“little, lesser”) + -issa (“-ess”), under influence from Norman frere-menouresse and Middle French sereur meneuresse (“lesser sister”), from menour (“minor”) + -esse (“-ess”), after the model of Medieval Latin Fratres Minores (“Lesser Brothers”), chosen by St. Francis to inculcate humility in the order's members. Equivalent to minor + -ess. Doublet of minoress and Sister Minor.
More words from Medieval Latin, Latin, Norman
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French minoresse
- minoressea nun of the Order of Saint Clare
Cite this entry
minoress. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/minoress
“minoress.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/minoress. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “minoress,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/minoress.
Source: minoress on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.