English terms for a female wolf and a female owl?










6















In the English language, what are the right terms for a female wolf and a female owl; perhaps "she wolf" and "owl hen"?



Are there distinct or separate words in English used for feminine? I checked in Wikipedia +other websites but found only "she-wolf" and "owl-hen".










share|improve this question



















  • 2





    The word for a female dog is bitch. My guess is that this would be the word for a female wolf, except for a reluctance to use the word bitch.

    – ab2
    Nov 11 '18 at 13:40






  • 3





    It's not exactly an everyday collocation, but a female owl would normally be called be a hen owl, not an owl hen.

    – FumbleFingers
    Nov 11 '18 at 14:05






  • 4





    Oxford Dictionaries says: "bitch NOUN 1A female dog, wolf, fox, or otter."

    – Michael Harvey
    Nov 11 '18 at 16:20







  • 1





    @MichaelHarvey - books.google.com/ngrams/…

    – user240918
    Nov 11 '18 at 19:35






  • 1





    Ngrams are useful, but not the law.

    – Michael Harvey
    Nov 11 '18 at 21:23















6















In the English language, what are the right terms for a female wolf and a female owl; perhaps "she wolf" and "owl hen"?



Are there distinct or separate words in English used for feminine? I checked in Wikipedia +other websites but found only "she-wolf" and "owl-hen".










share|improve this question



















  • 2





    The word for a female dog is bitch. My guess is that this would be the word for a female wolf, except for a reluctance to use the word bitch.

    – ab2
    Nov 11 '18 at 13:40






  • 3





    It's not exactly an everyday collocation, but a female owl would normally be called be a hen owl, not an owl hen.

    – FumbleFingers
    Nov 11 '18 at 14:05






  • 4





    Oxford Dictionaries says: "bitch NOUN 1A female dog, wolf, fox, or otter."

    – Michael Harvey
    Nov 11 '18 at 16:20







  • 1





    @MichaelHarvey - books.google.com/ngrams/…

    – user240918
    Nov 11 '18 at 19:35






  • 1





    Ngrams are useful, but not the law.

    – Michael Harvey
    Nov 11 '18 at 21:23













6












6








6


2






In the English language, what are the right terms for a female wolf and a female owl; perhaps "she wolf" and "owl hen"?



Are there distinct or separate words in English used for feminine? I checked in Wikipedia +other websites but found only "she-wolf" and "owl-hen".










share|improve this question
















In the English language, what are the right terms for a female wolf and a female owl; perhaps "she wolf" and "owl hen"?



Are there distinct or separate words in English used for feminine? I checked in Wikipedia +other websites but found only "she-wolf" and "owl-hen".







nouns gender-positive






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited Nov 11 '18 at 19:52









Rand al'Thor

3,71562145




3,71562145










asked Nov 11 '18 at 13:27









Aqib MehmoodAqib Mehmood

1796




1796







  • 2





    The word for a female dog is bitch. My guess is that this would be the word for a female wolf, except for a reluctance to use the word bitch.

    – ab2
    Nov 11 '18 at 13:40






  • 3





    It's not exactly an everyday collocation, but a female owl would normally be called be a hen owl, not an owl hen.

    – FumbleFingers
    Nov 11 '18 at 14:05






  • 4





    Oxford Dictionaries says: "bitch NOUN 1A female dog, wolf, fox, or otter."

    – Michael Harvey
    Nov 11 '18 at 16:20







  • 1





    @MichaelHarvey - books.google.com/ngrams/…

    – user240918
    Nov 11 '18 at 19:35






  • 1





    Ngrams are useful, but not the law.

    – Michael Harvey
    Nov 11 '18 at 21:23












  • 2





    The word for a female dog is bitch. My guess is that this would be the word for a female wolf, except for a reluctance to use the word bitch.

    – ab2
    Nov 11 '18 at 13:40






  • 3





    It's not exactly an everyday collocation, but a female owl would normally be called be a hen owl, not an owl hen.

    – FumbleFingers
    Nov 11 '18 at 14:05






  • 4





    Oxford Dictionaries says: "bitch NOUN 1A female dog, wolf, fox, or otter."

    – Michael Harvey
    Nov 11 '18 at 16:20







  • 1





    @MichaelHarvey - books.google.com/ngrams/…

    – user240918
    Nov 11 '18 at 19:35






  • 1





    Ngrams are useful, but not the law.

    – Michael Harvey
    Nov 11 '18 at 21:23







2




2





The word for a female dog is bitch. My guess is that this would be the word for a female wolf, except for a reluctance to use the word bitch.

– ab2
Nov 11 '18 at 13:40





The word for a female dog is bitch. My guess is that this would be the word for a female wolf, except for a reluctance to use the word bitch.

– ab2
Nov 11 '18 at 13:40




3




3





It's not exactly an everyday collocation, but a female owl would normally be called be a hen owl, not an owl hen.

– FumbleFingers
Nov 11 '18 at 14:05





It's not exactly an everyday collocation, but a female owl would normally be called be a hen owl, not an owl hen.

– FumbleFingers
Nov 11 '18 at 14:05




4




4





Oxford Dictionaries says: "bitch NOUN 1A female dog, wolf, fox, or otter."

– Michael Harvey
Nov 11 '18 at 16:20






Oxford Dictionaries says: "bitch NOUN 1A female dog, wolf, fox, or otter."

– Michael Harvey
Nov 11 '18 at 16:20





1




1





@MichaelHarvey - books.google.com/ngrams/…

– user240918
Nov 11 '18 at 19:35





@MichaelHarvey - books.google.com/ngrams/…

– user240918
Nov 11 '18 at 19:35




1




1





Ngrams are useful, but not the law.

– Michael Harvey
Nov 11 '18 at 21:23





Ngrams are useful, but not the law.

– Michael Harvey
Nov 11 '18 at 21:23










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















14














You used to have wolfess, now an archaic term. She-wolf or female wolf are the terms commonly used:




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.




(Studies in Linguistic Variation and Change: From Old to Middle English)



Female owl is the more common term as far as owl is concerned; “hen owl” appears to be a more informal expression.






share|improve this answer




















  • 1





    Incidentally, tigress is still in use.

    – Joshua
    Nov 11 '18 at 20:16











  • @Joshua Isn't tigress mostly used metaphorically?

    – gerrit
    Nov 11 '18 at 23:05











  • @gerrit: Yeah, quite a lot. But it's also used literally.

    – Joshua
    Nov 11 '18 at 23:47


















-1














The problem with the words you are looking for (as seen with the answer bitch for a female dog) is that those words are normally assigned to husbanded animals.



Hen / rooster, cow / bull, mare / stallion, etc.



Edit: Adding a generic 'ess' is the equivalent of saying 'female of' and in this case your best options seem to be 'she wolf' or 'wolfess' and 'hen owl'






share|improve this answer
























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    2 Answers
    2






    active

    oldest

    votes








    2 Answers
    2






    active

    oldest

    votes









    active

    oldest

    votes






    active

    oldest

    votes









    14














    You used to have wolfess, now an archaic term. She-wolf or female wolf are the terms commonly used:




    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.




    (Studies in Linguistic Variation and Change: From Old to Middle English)



    Female owl is the more common term as far as owl is concerned; “hen owl” appears to be a more informal expression.






    share|improve this answer




















    • 1





      Incidentally, tigress is still in use.

      – Joshua
      Nov 11 '18 at 20:16











    • @Joshua Isn't tigress mostly used metaphorically?

      – gerrit
      Nov 11 '18 at 23:05











    • @gerrit: Yeah, quite a lot. But it's also used literally.

      – Joshua
      Nov 11 '18 at 23:47















    14














    You used to have wolfess, now an archaic term. She-wolf or female wolf are the terms commonly used:




    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.




    (Studies in Linguistic Variation and Change: From Old to Middle English)



    Female owl is the more common term as far as owl is concerned; “hen owl” appears to be a more informal expression.






    share|improve this answer




















    • 1





      Incidentally, tigress is still in use.

      – Joshua
      Nov 11 '18 at 20:16











    • @Joshua Isn't tigress mostly used metaphorically?

      – gerrit
      Nov 11 '18 at 23:05











    • @gerrit: Yeah, quite a lot. But it's also used literally.

      – Joshua
      Nov 11 '18 at 23:47













    14












    14








    14







    You used to have wolfess, now an archaic term. She-wolf or female wolf are the terms commonly used:




    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.




    (Studies in Linguistic Variation and Change: From Old to Middle English)



    Female owl is the more common term as far as owl is concerned; “hen owl” appears to be a more informal expression.






    share|improve this answer















    You used to have wolfess, now an archaic term. She-wolf or female wolf are the terms commonly used:




    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.




    (Studies in Linguistic Variation and Change: From Old to Middle English)



    Female owl is the more common term as far as owl is concerned; “hen owl” appears to be a more informal expression.







    share|improve this answer














    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer








    edited Nov 11 '18 at 14:19

























    answered Nov 11 '18 at 13:33









    user240918user240918

    26.5k1072153




    26.5k1072153







    • 1





      Incidentally, tigress is still in use.

      – Joshua
      Nov 11 '18 at 20:16











    • @Joshua Isn't tigress mostly used metaphorically?

      – gerrit
      Nov 11 '18 at 23:05











    • @gerrit: Yeah, quite a lot. But it's also used literally.

      – Joshua
      Nov 11 '18 at 23:47












    • 1





      Incidentally, tigress is still in use.

      – Joshua
      Nov 11 '18 at 20:16











    • @Joshua Isn't tigress mostly used metaphorically?

      – gerrit
      Nov 11 '18 at 23:05











    • @gerrit: Yeah, quite a lot. But it's also used literally.

      – Joshua
      Nov 11 '18 at 23:47







    1




    1





    Incidentally, tigress is still in use.

    – Joshua
    Nov 11 '18 at 20:16





    Incidentally, tigress is still in use.

    – Joshua
    Nov 11 '18 at 20:16













    @Joshua Isn't tigress mostly used metaphorically?

    – gerrit
    Nov 11 '18 at 23:05





    @Joshua Isn't tigress mostly used metaphorically?

    – gerrit
    Nov 11 '18 at 23:05













    @gerrit: Yeah, quite a lot. But it's also used literally.

    – Joshua
    Nov 11 '18 at 23:47





    @gerrit: Yeah, quite a lot. But it's also used literally.

    – Joshua
    Nov 11 '18 at 23:47













    -1














    The problem with the words you are looking for (as seen with the answer bitch for a female dog) is that those words are normally assigned to husbanded animals.



    Hen / rooster, cow / bull, mare / stallion, etc.



    Edit: Adding a generic 'ess' is the equivalent of saying 'female of' and in this case your best options seem to be 'she wolf' or 'wolfess' and 'hen owl'






    share|improve this answer





























      -1














      The problem with the words you are looking for (as seen with the answer bitch for a female dog) is that those words are normally assigned to husbanded animals.



      Hen / rooster, cow / bull, mare / stallion, etc.



      Edit: Adding a generic 'ess' is the equivalent of saying 'female of' and in this case your best options seem to be 'she wolf' or 'wolfess' and 'hen owl'






      share|improve this answer



























        -1












        -1








        -1







        The problem with the words you are looking for (as seen with the answer bitch for a female dog) is that those words are normally assigned to husbanded animals.



        Hen / rooster, cow / bull, mare / stallion, etc.



        Edit: Adding a generic 'ess' is the equivalent of saying 'female of' and in this case your best options seem to be 'she wolf' or 'wolfess' and 'hen owl'






        share|improve this answer















        The problem with the words you are looking for (as seen with the answer bitch for a female dog) is that those words are normally assigned to husbanded animals.



        Hen / rooster, cow / bull, mare / stallion, etc.



        Edit: Adding a generic 'ess' is the equivalent of saying 'female of' and in this case your best options seem to be 'she wolf' or 'wolfess' and 'hen owl'







        share|improve this answer














        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer








        edited Nov 12 '18 at 11:50

























        answered Nov 11 '18 at 23:03









        Sanjurjo7Sanjurjo7

        153




        153



























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