Grammar silliness..

[telophase]

So if a male Roman arena fighter is a gladiator...
and a female Roman arena fighter is a gladiatrix...
that makes two female Roman arena fighters gladiatrices.

Comments

[octopedingenue]

Gladioli!

[badnoodles.livejournal.com]

And you'll find the record of Gladiatrices vs. Cockatrices among the indices of world sport.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

And now I'm trying to backform "cockatrice" into "cockatrix" and ... what? Cockator?

[movingfinger.livejournal.com]

"Cockatrice" has one of the best entries in the OED.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

A forlyued cok leye{th} egges in his laste elde..and yf any venimous worme sitte{th} on brood {th}erupon in {th}e canicular dayes, {th}erof is gendrid..a cocatrice.
Yay for online OED! XD

[badnoodles.livejournal.com]

Sounds about right to me.

Next time I'm on an all-female sports team/committee, I'm going to demand that we call ourselves the Cockatrice Gladiatrices.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I'd buy that T-shirt.

[chomiji]

Good old -trix ending! Aviatrix is the only one I can think of that ever made it into common English usage.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I think I've seen "editrix" in writings from the 19th or early 20th century, but I can't remember where or if it was serious or ironic usage.

[solarbird]

I've seen "editrix" used to describe me (or, I suppose, my position) personally, without irony, within the last three years.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Huh, interesting.

[chomiji]

Wow - that's impressive!

I worked for a couple of scientific publishing places in the 1980s, and we never got to be editrices! (Or redactrices, I suppose, if you're of the opinion that copy editors aren't real editors ... .)

[solarbird]

I'd agree to surprising. My thought at the time was, "well, you're happily showing off your Latin, now, aren't you?" but I was also kind of amused. ^_^

[badnoodles.livejournal.com]

...as opposed to that completely obscure term "Dominatrix"

[chomiji]

> headdesk!!! <

> sigh <

My normally slimy mind obviously had its work clothes on ... .

[lady-noremon.livejournal.com]

:D

Though it could also be a erotica title..

[solarbird]

See, now, you beat me to it. I was gonna be all:

that makes two female Roman arena fighters gladiatrices

...my idea of a very, very, very good Saturday night.

[lady-noremon.livejournal.com]

*snort* (Can I join you for that?)

[solarbird]

Sure, just bring the oils. ^_^

[viridian5.livejournal.com]

Sounds like they each have a feathered crest.