ABSTRACT
Explicit derivations that denote female counterparts of male designations by the addition of various suffixes, cf. actress, aviatrix. Examples of the reverse process (e.g. widower<widow) are very rare. In English, the derivation of female from male forms through suffixation is generally not productive; it is, instead, being replaced by compounding (e.g. chairwoman vs chairman) or being leveled out completely (e.g. chair, manager, mail carrier).
