A female person or being that exterminates; a woman or feminine entity that destroys completely.
From exterminator + -ess (Old French -esse, a suffix making feminine forms). This is an archaic or literary feminine form, like 'actress' or 'waitress.'
Words like 'exterminatress' are mostly obsolete now—we'd just say 'a female exterminator' or 'an exterminator who is a woman' instead of creating a separate feminine form.
The -ress suffix marks female agents of masculine root words (exterminator + ress). This morphological pattern originated in medieval/early modern English to linguistically gender occupations and roles, reinforcing the default-masculine norm where the feminine form required explicit marking.
If used, apply equally to agents of any gender. Prefer gender-neutral 'exterminator' for all practitioners.
["exterminator"]
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