wolfess

• wolvess (rare)

From Middle English wolfesse, wolvas, wolvesse; equivalent to wolf +‎ -ess.

wolfess (plural wolfesses)

1. A female wolf, a she-wolf.
   • 1550, Iohn Carion, translated by Gwalter Lynne, compiled by Iohn Funcke, The Thre Bokes of Cronicles, Whyche Iohn Carion (a Man Syngularly Well Sene in the Mathematycall Sciences) Gathered wyth Great Diligence of the Beste Authours That Haue Written in Hebrue, Greke or Latine. […], London: […] [S. Mierdman] for Gwalter Lynne, […], folio xxv, verso; republished in Early English Books Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: Text Creation Partnership, p. 2011:

     Whan the chyldren were now set at the brinke of y^e water, by chaunce came a wolfesse out of the nexte mountaynes, which gaue thē soucke, vntil they we∣re founde of the Kynges shepherde, who bringin∣ge them home, toke them hys wyfe to nouryshe.

   • 1922, Souls for Sale, page 384:

     The dog eloped with a white wolfess, and proved a good husband and father until his household was destroyed by relentless man.

   • 1947, It Started in Ravenswood, page 225:

     “Yes, they got here hours ago, just about the time you went prowling around like a wolf, they were supposed to come tomorrow, but I guess they changed their minds on the date.” / “Wolf, am I?” Jack laughed, taking the hint belatedly. “Well, maybe I am, and you are the wolfess I’m after. Woof, woof, I am coming after you.” / Anna backed away feigning fear, then laughed.

   • 1954, Benjamin Appel, Sweet Money Girl: A Gold Medal Original, page 64:

     “Another day in the George Lawrence Empire. Scene, the fox-trot ballroom. Characters, a wolfess aged forty-two and yours truly.” He rolled his eyes like a woman’s. “Tommy, hold me tight, will you honey?” he whispered in the role of the wolfess. Then the woman’s eyes changed into the sly and sad and abandoned eyes of a homo.

   • 1956, The New Yorker, page 28, column 3:

     In the crowd that welcomed him home, consisting of about eleven creatures, for all the others were hiding under beds, there was a speed-crazy young wolfess, with built-in instantaneous pickup ability, and in no time at all the wolf and his new-found mate were setting new records for driving upside down, backward, blindfolded, handcuffed, and cockeyed, doubled and redoubled.

   • 1963, New York Theatre Critics’ Reviews, page 327, column 3:

     Allyn Ann McLerie slinks skillfully as cat and wolfess; Richard Hayes struts smoothly as “The Stork Who Married a Dumb Wife;” Kaye Ballard unleashes her lush voice, and Bert Convy and Nancy Haywood exploit their youthful vitality in numerous guises.

   • 1971, Daniel Cohen, A Natural History of Unnatural Things, page 46:

     To prove the truth of his story, the werewolf, “using his claw as a hand, drew off the pelt from the head of the wolfess and folded it back even as far down as the navel, whereupon there was plainly to be seen the body of an old woman.”

   • 1973, Roman Art in West Coast Collections, page 49:

     The dispute between Romulus and Remus, resulting in the death of Remus at the hands of Romulus, purportedly took place during their search for a new city-site to be situated near the place where they were suckled and saved by a wolfess when abandoned as infants.

   • 1979, David Knox, Exploring Marriage and the Family, page 45:

     Once upon a time there was a pretty young wolfess who was happy and carefree. She liked to flirt with all the young wolves, go to rabbit runs, and sleep till noon. She enjoyed all the nice things that young, carefree wolfesses do.

   • 2017, Adam Browne, Imperium Lupi, Dayfly Publications:

     Ahead was a huge door to a walk-in safe, tucked behind in a long, partitioned desk and guarded by a pretty, prim-looking white wolfess in a Politzi-like ALPHA uniform. / Janoah walked over and exchanged salutes. The safe door was ajar, to her surprise. / “Who’s in there?” she demanded of the white wolfess.

2. (slang, figurative) A predatory woman.
   • 1946, Elizabeth Woodward, Let’s Have a Party, page 19:

     He’ll enjoy the game, and if he goes into it with his eyes wide open, he won’t be ensnared by any tricks the wolfess plays on him. Not your man. He’s yours!

   • 1947, Betty Betz, The Betty Betz Party Book, pages 16, 55:

     The hostess who invites only the gals whom she thinks she can outshine in looks and conversation, so that she’ll be queen of the ball, will swiftly win the reputation of having only female goons and creeps at her parties. Boys also duck the wolfess who manages to invite five men to every girl so that, although all of the frails enjoy a dizzy whirl, most of the men just stand around talking to one another. […] Keep your wolfess tactics away from a school dance or party, especially when they’re aimed at somebody else’s date.

   • 2002, Lynn Peril, Pink Think: Becoming a Woman in Many Uneasy Lessons, →ISBN, page 148:

     […] the types of girls you’re more likely to come across in your dating life.” There was the gold digger, the wolfess, and the catty character, but worst of all was the bad sport: […]

   • [2015, Elena Sasu, Nicolas Trapateau, “Inkhorn Terms: Some that Got Away. Middle English Words Ending in -ess(e)”, in Fabienne Toupin, Brian Lowrey, editors, Studies in Linguistic Variation and Change: From Old to Middle English, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, →ISBN, 5. The fate of words ending in -ess(e): 3. Lexical revival, page 75:

     The use of -ess(e) to form the nouns of female animals spread after the introduction of lioness and gave rise, by analogy, to the nonce-word dovess. But wolfess, the medieval term for a she-wolf, is now rarely used in Present Day English except to mean a woman that is sexually aggressive.]

• she-wolf

• werewolfess