Adulteress

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A female who has sexual encounters outside her marriage, thereby breaching the vows of fidelity and commitment she made to her partner
2. An individual who engages in romantic and sexual relations with someone other than her lawful spouse, undermining the sanctity of her marriage
3. A woman who engages in sexual relations with someone other than her husband, violating marital fidelity

Etymology: Adulteress was built on "adulter," a noun meaning an adulterer, with the feminine suffix "-ess" added to it. That suffix came into English from Old French and was once a productive way to mark women in roles and titles, as in "countess," "actress," and "poetess." The surprising twist is the grammar of the pair: "adulter" itself was the older noun for the offender, and "adulterer" later took over that role, so "adulteress" was originally formed as a female counterpart to a word that was already the base of the form. In later use, speakers came to read "adulteress" as the female equivalent of "adulterer," the word that now stands as the standard male form. The result is a word whose structure reflects an older noun pattern while its everyday sense follows the newer pairing, with the suffix simply marking the woman.

Synonyms: cheater, mistress

Antonyms: fidelity