| 释义 |
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024-trix, - Pronounsa suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, where it formed feminine nouns or adjectives corresponding to agent nouns ending in -tor (Bellatrix). On this model, -trix is used in English to form feminine nouns (aviatrix;
executrix) and geometrical terms denoting straight lines (directrix).
Also, -trice. A suffix borrowed directly from Latin, -trix has been used since the 15th century on feminine agent nouns that correspond to a masculine (in Latin) or generic (in English) agent noun ending in -tor: aviator, aviatrix; legislator, legislatrix; orator, oratrix. Most nouns in -trix have dropped from general use, so that terms like aviatrix, benefactrix, legislatrix, oratrix, and proprietrix occur rarely or not at all in present-day English. The forms in -tor are applied to both men and women:Her sister is the proprietor of a new restaurant.When relevant, sex is specified with the generic term:Amelia Earhart was a pioneer woman aviator.Legal documents still use administratrix, executrix, inheritrix, and the like, but these forms too are giving way to the -tor forms. See also -enne, -ess, -ette. Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: -trix suffix forming nouns - indicating a feminine agent, corresponding to nouns ending in -tor: executrix
Etymology: from Latin |