sergeantess
nounEtymology From Middle English sergeantesse; equivalent to sergeant + -ess.
1
Dated A female sergeant.
- Mrs. Taradoodle,Sergeantess at Mace.1684, The Parliament of Women, or, A Compleat History of the Proceedings and Debates, of a Particular Junto, of Ladies and Gentlewomen, with a Design to Alter the Government of the World by Way of Satyr, London: […] John Holford, page 13:
- Ordered, That the Sergeanteſs at Arms, attending this House, do forthwith go with the Mace, to ſummon all the Members to attend the Service of this Houſe on Tueſday next.[1735], An Address to the Right Worshipful the Batchelors of Great-Britain, London: […] A. Antiquity, page 6:
4 more examples
- They have regular recruiting sergeants and sergeantesses, whom they send out to lie in wait for the unwary, and after intoxicating them with the poison of superstition, induce them to enlist.1846, Dan Mendon, “Finesse.—Denunciation—Threatened Judgment—The Power of a Curse.—Proselyting.”, in Lo Here and Lo There! or, The Grave of the Heart, New York, N.Y.: […] the Author, page 77:
- This sister, who, we were told, bore the title and rank of sergeantess (sargenta), possessed the remains of great beauty, and her (probably) forty summers had not injured her commanding and graceful figure.1846 February 28, The Manchester Guardian, number 1,789, page 9:
- Imagine Sam. going down Broadway some afternoon with a captainess in front of him, a lieutenantess on either side of him, and a sergeantess in the rear!1880 March 25, Knoxville Daily Chronicle, volume X, Knoxville, Tenn.:
- Miss Belle Rolston was the orderly sergeantess, as Richard Grant White might say, and acquitted herself of her important duties in a faultless manner, receiving the highest praise for her accurate knowledge of every detail and graceful demeanor.1882 October 9, Wisconsin State Journal, volume XXXI, number 41, Madison, Wis.: