poetess

[ poh-i-tis ]

noun

1. a woman who writes poetry.

Gender Note

See -ess.

Word History and Origins

Origin of poetess¹

First recorded in 1520–30; poet + -ess

Example Sentences

To paraphrase the late, venerable American poetess, Maya Angelou: our nation is a multi-colored ocean, leaping and wide, welling and swelling, we bear the tide.

From Salon

But they also can take over the image, as in Bronzino’s gorgeous portrait of the distinguished poetess Laura Battiferri, who holds a large volume of Petrarch’s sonnets that absorbs much of the pictorial energy.

From Washington Post

These days the word “essayist” sounds fussy and a little old-fashioned, nearly as archaic as “bookman” and “poetess.”

From Washington Post

In the first episode, titled “Because I could not stop for Death,” Death is played by Wiz Khalifa, in a fantasy sequence where he smokes the poetess out and also gives her a pep talk.

From The New Yorker

We have historically added feminine suffixes like “ess” to job titles to denote that a person is female, as in “actress” or the archaic “poetess”.

From The Guardian