to far later
periods of the language; thus 'vanqueress' (Fabyan); 'poisoneress'
(Greneway); 'knightess' (Udal); 'pedleress', 'championess', 'vassaless',
'avengeress', 'warriouress', 'victoress', 'creatress' (all in Spenser);
'fornicatress', 'cloistress', 'jointress' (all in Shakespeare);
'vowess' (Holinshed); 'ministress', 'flatteress' (both in Holland);
'captainess' (Sidney); 'saintess' (Sir T. Urquhart); 'heroess',
'dragoness', 'butleress', 'contendress', 'waggoness', 'rectress' (all in
Chapman); 'shootress' (Fairfax); 'archeress' (Fanshawe); 'clientess',
'pandress' (both in Middleton); 'papess', 'Jesuitess' (Bishop Hall);
'incitress' (Gayton); 'soldieress', 'guardianess', 'votaress' (all in
Beaumont and Fletcher); 'comfortress', 'fosteress' (Ben Jonson);
'soveraintess' (Sylvester); 'preserveress' (Daniel); 'solicitress',
'impostress', 'buildress', 'intrudress' (all in Fuller); 'favouress'
(Hakewell); 'commandress' (Burton); 'monarchess', 'discipless' (Speed);
'auditress', 'cateress', 'chantress', 'tyranness' (all in Milton);
'citess', 'divineress' (both in Dryden); 'deaness' (Sterne);
'detractress' (Addison); 'hucksteress' (Howell); 'tutoress'
(Shaftesbury); 'farmeress' (Lord Peterborough, _Letter to Pope_);
'laddess', which however still survives in the contracted form of
'lass'{167}; with more which, I doubt not, it would not be very hard to
bring together{168}.

{Sidenote: _Words in '-ster'_}

Exactly the same thing has happened with another feminine affix. I refer
to 'ster', taking the place of 'er' where a feminine doer is
intended{169}. 'Spinner' and 'spinster' are the only pair of such
words, which still survive. There were formerly many such; thus 'baker'
had 'bakester', being the female who baked: 'brewer' 'brewster'; 'sewer'
'sewster'; 'reader' 'readster'; 'seamer' 'seamster'; 'fruiterer'
'fruitester'; 'tumbler' 'tumblester'; 'hopper' 'hoppester' (these last
three in Chaucer; "the shippes _hoppesteres_", about which so much
difficulty has been made, are the ships _dancing_, i.e., on the
waves){170}, 'knitter' 'knitster' (a word, I am told, still alive in
Devon). Add to these 'whitster' (female bleacher, Shakespeare),
'kempster' (pectrix), 'dryster' (siccatrix), 'brawdster', (I suppose
embroideress){171}, and 'salster' (salinaria){172}. It is a singular
example of the richness of a language in forms at the earlier stages of
its existence, that not a few of the words which had, as we have just
seen, a femi