A woman who gives a donation or gift, especially to a religious institution or charity.
From Latin 'donator' (giver) + feminine suffix '-ess'. The root 'donare' means to give, and the feminine form emerged in Middle English to specify a female donor.
This word shows how English used to add '-ess' to almost any profession or role to mark it as female—like actress, waitress, or duchess. Today we mostly just say 'donor' for anyone, but donatress reminds us how language once categorized people by gender in surprising ways.
Female suffix -ress added to 'donator' to mark women as marked/exceptional. Standard practice of older English to gender professions/roles only for women, implying male as default.
Use 'donor' for all genders. If specificity needed, use 'woman donor' or 'female donor' contextually, not as a separate word form.
["donor","woman donor"]
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