foundress

American  

[foun-dris] / ˈfaʊn drɪs /

noun

1. a woman who establishes something, as an institution or religious order; founder.

---

Gender

See -ess.

Etymology

Origin of foundress

1400–50; late Middle English founderesse; see founder ¹, -ess

Example Sentences

The nuns had been preparing for the addition of a St. Joseph shrine, and that involved “the reinterment of the remains of our beloved foundress, Sister Wilhelmina,” the statement said.

From Seattle Times • May 30, 2023

“So Pocahontas becomes a foundress of the country with early Americans.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 29, 2018

A 19th-century foundress of the Little Franciscans of Mary, Mother Marie Louise Rondeau, prayed in front of the painting, Rev. LaBaire said.

From Washington Times • Apr. 2, 2016

“The foundress was an extremely savvy businesswoman and financially astute,” Ms. Reed said.

From New York Times • Feb. 6, 2015

Demeter was worshipped in a twofold sense by the Greeks, as the foundress of agriculture and as goddess of law and order.

From The Eleusinian Mysteries and Rites by Wright, Dudley