canoness

[ kan-uh-nis ]

noun

1. a member of a Christian community of women living under a rule but not under a vow.

canoness

/ ˈkænənɪs /

noun

1. RC Church a woman belonging to any one of several religious orders and living under a rule but not under a vow

Gender Note

What's the difference between canoness and canon? See -ess.

Word History and Origins

Origin of canoness¹

First recorded in 1675–85; canon ² + -ess

Example Sentences

Very often was the Canoness constrained to absorb herself in her little illuminated prayer-book.

From Project Gutenberg

The Canoness he descried escaping, unseen by them, with the aid of a gardener, across the pond into the park.

From Project Gutenberg

She was made a canoness of the aristocratic order of St. Theresa, of which the Queen was the head.

From Project Gutenberg

All the voices, the voice of the merciful canoness excepted, demand with Countess Ursine, "Justice and vengeance!"

From Project Gutenberg

And a Parisian market-woman spoke better French than a German canoness with sixty-four ancestors.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• sister