Penwoman

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A woman who makes pens or who writes with a pen as a profession, especially in a historical or craft context
2. A female person who fashions writing pens by hand or who produces written texts for a living
3. The feminine term for a person, a woman, who crafts pens or who is engaged in penned composition

Etymology: "Penwoman" is a plain compound of "pen" and "woman," meaning a woman who writes, especially a female author. The word is built on the same pattern as "penman," which is formed from "pen" in the sense of a writing instrument plus "man." Its parts are transparent, so there is no hidden story behind its formation: the older word "pen" came into English from Latin "penna," meaning feather, because quill feathers were the traditional writing tools, and "woman" is an ordinary native English word. Putting the two together produced a gendered label for a writer, a pattern English used for several occupations before writers were routinely described by sex.