murderess

plural murderesses · alternative murdress

1. datedfeminineFemale equivalent of murderer: a woman who commits murder.

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

   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

   4 more examples

   With the main crisis is linked the scene in which the murderess, casting off the mask of her hypocrisy, openly exults in her deed, defends herself, and defies her subjects.

   1924, Herbert Weir Smyth, “VI. Orestea. I: Agamemnon”, in Aeschylean Tragedy, page 158

   “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.”

   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

   M.T. maintains the primary suspect is Stefanie's boyfriend, the couple recently breaking up. Despite other Facebook and MSN messages indicating M.T. had talked with at least three friends about wanting Stefanie dead, she doesn't seem to think suspicion will fall on her as a murderess-once-removed.

   2009 March 10, Rosie DiManno, “Murder reduced to infantile online postings”, in Toronto Star, archived from the original on 13 Mar 2009

   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.

   2014 October 5, Matt Rudd, “Scandal! Horror! Homicide! Murders by gaslight”, in The Times, London: News UK, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 06 Oct 2023