foundress

[ foun-dris ]

noun

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

Origin of foundress

1400–50; late Middle English founderesse;see founder¹, -ess

See -ess.

Fabiola, at Rome, is the foundress of the first important hospital in that city.
Old-Time Makers of Medicine | James J. Walsh
Was not the princess and foundress of good arts, Minerva, born of the brain of highest Jove, a woman?
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, No. 472 | Various
The daughter of the foundress, named Mildred, ruled over the community, and afterwards was canonized.
From the North Foreland to Penzance | Clive Holland
The finest of the towers was erected in 1242 by Hugues of Lusignan, and named after Mlusine, the mythical foundress of the family.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6 | Various
We cannot believe that Wadham escaped the contagion, and remained what its foundress meant it to be.
The Life and Times of John Wilkins | Patrick A. Wright-Henderson

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