The wife of a dean, or in some contexts, a female dean; a woman holding the position or status of a dean.
From 'dean' plus the feminine suffix '-ess' (from Old French '-esse,' originally from Latin '-issa'). The '-ess' suffix historically marked female versions of male roles.
The suffix '-ess' is becoming rarer in modern English because people prefer using the same title regardless of gender, so 'deaness' is archaic—we now just say 'dean' for anyone holding the role, male or female.
Feminine form of 'dean' (from Latin decanus). The '-ess' suffix automaticially marks women in hierarchical roles as exceptional or marked category, while male 'dean' is unmarked/default.
Use 'dean' for all genders; or 'dean (woman)' or 'female dean' if gender context is relevant to the discussion.
["dean","woman dean","female dean"]
Women have served as deans since the late 19th century (Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, 1878), yet the marked '-ess' suffix linguistically treats them as derivative from the male norm rather than equally default.
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