rectoress

R1E1C3T1O1R1E1S1S1

noun

A governess; a rectrix.

Scrabble 11
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounrectoress (plural rectoresses)

plural rectoresses · alternative rectress

  1. A governess; a rectrix.

    Diſſembling griefe, as one that knevv not ill, / So can ſhe rule the greatneſſe of her mind, / As a moſt perfect Rectoreſſe of her vvill, / Aboue the vſuall vveakneſſe of her kind; […]

    1605, Michaell Draiton [i.e., Michael Drayton], “The First Booke of the Barrons Warres”, in Poems: […], London: […] [Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] Ling, →OCLC, stanza 35, page 13
  2. The wife of a rector.

    In this way the worthy Rectoress consoled herself : and her daughters sighed, and sate over the Peerage all night

    1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC

Origin

From rector + -ess.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

retrocesscrosstree
Cite this entry
APA

rectoress. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rectoress

MLA

“rectoress.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rectoress. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rectoress,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rectoress.

Source: rectoress on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.