Why are there gendered words for some professions like actor and actress but not e.g. doctor and doctress?

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Why are there gendered words for some professions like actor and actress but not e.g. doctor and doctress?

In: 1937

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Anonymous 0 Comments

There are also some pairs which preserve the Latin -or/-rix. Executor/executrix, for example, and some like steward(ess) and waiter/waitress which have been replaced by gender neutral words (attendant, server). And some, like instructor, which AFAIK have only ever had that one gender-neutral form. Language evolves somewhat haphazardly.

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