comtesse
English
Noun
comtesse (plural comtesses)
- A French countess.
- 1830, Autobiography: A Collection of the Most Instructive and Amusing Lives Ever Published, Written by the Parties Themselves. […], volume XXIX (Madame du Barri), London: Whittaker, Treacher, and Arnot, […], pages 81–82:
- The king is impatient to see the comtesse, and I have promised that she will sup with him to-morrow evening in my apartment at Versailles.
- 1982, Mary Jane Staples, Nurse Anna’s War, Corgi Books, published 2011, →ISBN, page 143:
- ‘Louise Victoria is a comtesse?’ murmured the major. […] You’ll agree, I think, Madame Dupont, that some young ladies are to be cherished, whether they’re comtesses or not?
- 2009, Annaliese Evans, Night’s Rose, Tor Books, →ISBN, pages 18–19:
- “That is not fitting speech for a comtesse, not to mention highly unfashionable language for a young lady to use in mixed company.” […] “You have known many comtesses?” she asked, lowering her sword, sensing the threat from Gareth had passed . . . at least for now.
Coordinate terms
Related terms
French
Etymology
From Middle French contese, contesse, from Old French contesce, contesse, cuntesse; equivalent to comte (“earl”) + -esse (“-ess”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kɔ̃.tɛs/
- Rhymes: -ɛs
Audio (file)
Further reading
- “comtesse”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
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