editor

ruzuzu It's not already? Jul 25, 2011

yarb That should be the Wordnik logo. Jul 24, 2011

blafferty Wow, rolig, it's true. Wordtrix makes me picture a woman in vinyl with a whip and a dictionary. Jul 24, 2011

dontcry Wordnista vs wordtrix.
*drums fingertips on desk*
Decisions, decisions... Jul 24, 2011

ruzuzu When I look at Wordnitsa, I want to read it as Wordnista. Jul 23, 2011

bilby Bad luck dc. Youcantteachanolddognewtrix. Jul 23, 2011

rolig Dontcry, you do what's right for you. And I'm sure that whatever you do, it's fierce. Jul 23, 2011

dontcry I'm sure your right, rol. I'm stickin' with graphic designtrix just the same! I'm dangerous today. Jul 23, 2011

rolig Dontcry, I think the feminine form of "graphic designer" would be "graphic designress": the -ress suffix generally corresponds to the -er suffix, while -trix goes with -tor (though there are exceptions, for example actor/actress).
Bilby, you're right about aviatrix, which often appears in combination with the phrase Amelia Earhart.
Ruzuzu, with regard to a possible feminine form for "Wordnik", I would point out that the -nik suffix is of Slavic origin (in some cases coming into Am.English via Yiddish), and in the Slavic languages the feminine counterpart to -nik words is, as a rule, -nitsa (in the past sometimes transliterated as -nitza, and today, in the so-called scientific transliteration, as -nica), as in the Russian words любовник, любовница / lyubovnik, lyubovnitsa (male and female "lover", respectively). That would give us Wordnitsa, or if you prefer Wordnitza. Jul 23, 2011

ruzuzu Wordtrix? Wordniktrix? Jul 23, 2011

bilby I've seen aviatrix. In living memory :-/ Jul 23, 2011

dontcry I offered up "graphic designtrix" last night. No bites... Jul 23, 2011

rolig There are not many English words where the feminine forms in -trix are still in use. I have seen executrix for the female executor of a will, but the most famous -trix is, of course, dominatrix, and I expect that this word would influence the connotations of any other -trix word that one might try to revive or introduce. Thus, one feels that a woman who insists on being known as an editrix is not merely an editor without a Y chromosome, but is a really demanding editor as well. Curiously, the English cognate of this suffix, -ess has almost exactly opposite connotations, suggesting the sentimental, romantic, or temperamental side of things, as in the words poetess and authoress – which is why very early in the feminist movement women writers tended to reject such terms for themselves. Who today would dare to refer to Virginia Woolf as an authoress or Sylvia Plath as a poetess? Would anyone have called Margaret Thatcher a prime ministress? Such words were thought to be demeaning not because they referred to women but because they were associated with notions of dilletantism and weakness, in the sense of not being able to deal with the serious matters of politics and commerce. Jul 23, 2011

dontcry I'm going to start adding 'trix' to the end of random words to see how long it takes mr dontcry to figure it out. And here I thought another weekend on the sofa with leg propped up was going to be a drag. If I only had some marmite...
*snort* Jul 22, 2011

yarb editrix is one of my favourite words but I wouldn't call its falling into disuse a "dumbing down of gender". In fact I think I prefer the gender-neutral occupations. It's certainly less hassle than e.g. Spanish where you're always having to add an 'a' if the person happens to be female. Jul 22, 2011

grandpa27 In the past, english used to distinguish gender with masculine and feminine endings. Aviator/aviatrix and others. Is there an editrix? The answer is yes and a good thing has been lost in the dumbing down of gender. Women are not honorary men. Jul 22, 2011

oroboros “Some editors are failed writers, but so are most writers.�?
– T. S. Eliot (1888-1965) Aug 28, 2007