English terms for a female wolf and a female owl?

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6
down vote

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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".

edited Nov 11 at 19:52

Rand al'Thor

3,69052145

asked Nov 11 at 13:27

Aqib Mehmood

826

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 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 at 14:05

4

Oxford Dictionaries says: "bitch NOUN 1A female dog, wolf, fox, or otter."
– Michael Harvey
Nov 11 at 16:20

1

@MichaelHarvey - books.google.com/ngrams/…
– user240918
Nov 11 at 19:35

1

Ngrams are useful, but not the law.
– Michael Harvey
Nov 11 at 21:23

|
show 4 more comments

up vote
6
down vote

favorite

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".

edited Nov 11 at 19:52

Rand al'Thor

3,69052145

asked Nov 11 at 13:27

Aqib Mehmood

826

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 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 at 14:05

4

Oxford Dictionaries says: "bitch NOUN 1A female dog, wolf, fox, or otter."
– Michael Harvey
Nov 11 at 16:20

1

@MichaelHarvey - books.google.com/ngrams/…
– user240918
Nov 11 at 19:35

1

Ngrams are useful, but not the law.
– Michael Harvey
Nov 11 at 21:23

|
show 4 more comments

up vote
6
down vote

favorite

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".

edited Nov 11 at 19:52

Rand al'Thor

3,69052145

asked Nov 11 at 13:27

Aqib Mehmood

826

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

edited Nov 11 at 19:52

Rand al'Thor

3,69052145

asked Nov 11 at 13:27

Aqib Mehmood

826

edited Nov 11 at 19:52

Rand al'Thor

3,69052145

asked Nov 11 at 13:27

Aqib Mehmood

826

edited Nov 11 at 19:52

Rand al'Thor

3,69052145

edited Nov 11 at 19:52

Rand al'Thor

3,69052145

edited Nov 11 at 19:52

Rand al'Thor

3,69052145

asked Nov 11 at 13:27

Aqib Mehmood

826

asked Nov 11 at 13:27

Aqib Mehmood

826

asked Nov 11 at 13:27

Aqib Mehmood

826

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 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 at 14:05

4

Oxford Dictionaries says: "bitch NOUN 1A female dog, wolf, fox, or otter."
– Michael Harvey
Nov 11 at 16:20

1

@MichaelHarvey - books.google.com/ngrams/…
– user240918
Nov 11 at 19:35

1

Ngrams are useful, but not the law.
– Michael Harvey
Nov 11 at 21:23

|
show 4 more comments

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 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 at 14:05

4

Oxford Dictionaries says: "bitch NOUN 1A female dog, wolf, fox, or otter."
– Michael Harvey
Nov 11 at 16:20

1

@MichaelHarvey - books.google.com/ngrams/…
– user240918
Nov 11 at 19:35

1

Ngrams are useful, but not the law.
– Michael Harvey
Nov 11 at 21:23

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 at 13:40

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 at 14:05

Oxford Dictionaries says: "bitch NOUN 1A female dog, wolf, fox, or otter."
– Michael Harvey
Nov 11 at 16:20

@MichaelHarvey - books.google.com/ngrams/…
– user240918
Nov 11 at 19:35

Ngrams are useful, but not the law.
– Michael Harvey
Nov 11 at 21:23

|
show 4 more comments

2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

up vote
14
down vote

accepted

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.

edited Nov 11 at 14:19

answered Nov 11 at 13:33

user240918

24.3k967147

1

Incidentally, tigress is still in use.
– Joshua
Nov 11 at 20:16

@Joshua Isn't tigress mostly used metaphorically?
– gerrit
Nov 11 at 23:05

@gerrit: Yeah, quite a lot. But it's also used literally.
– Joshua
Nov 11 at 23:47

add a comment |

up vote
-1
down vote

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'

edited Nov 12 at 11:50

answered Nov 11 at 23:03

Sanjurjo7

153

add a comment |

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2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

up vote
14
down vote

accepted

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.

edited Nov 11 at 14:19

answered Nov 11 at 13:33

user240918

24.3k967147

1

Incidentally, tigress is still in use.
– Joshua
Nov 11 at 20:16

@Joshua Isn't tigress mostly used metaphorically?
– gerrit
Nov 11 at 23:05

@gerrit: Yeah, quite a lot. But it's also used literally.
– Joshua
Nov 11 at 23:47

add a comment |

up vote
14
down vote

accepted

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.

edited Nov 11 at 14:19

answered Nov 11 at 13:33

user240918

24.3k967147

1

Incidentally, tigress is still in use.
– Joshua
Nov 11 at 20:16

@Joshua Isn't tigress mostly used metaphorically?
– gerrit
Nov 11 at 23:05

@gerrit: Yeah, quite a lot. But it's also used literally.
– Joshua
Nov 11 at 23:47

add a comment |

up vote
14
down vote

accepted

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.

edited Nov 11 at 14:19

answered Nov 11 at 13:33

user240918

24.3k967147

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.

edited Nov 11 at 14:19

answered Nov 11 at 13:33

user240918

24.3k967147

edited Nov 11 at 14:19

answered Nov 11 at 13:33

user240918

24.3k967147

answered Nov 11 at 13:33

user240918

24.3k967147

answered Nov 11 at 13:33

user240918

24.3k967147

1

Incidentally, tigress is still in use.
– Joshua
Nov 11 at 20:16

@Joshua Isn't tigress mostly used metaphorically?
– gerrit
Nov 11 at 23:05

@gerrit: Yeah, quite a lot. But it's also used literally.
– Joshua
Nov 11 at 23:47

add a comment |

1

Incidentally, tigress is still in use.
– Joshua
Nov 11 at 20:16

@Joshua Isn't tigress mostly used metaphorically?
– gerrit
Nov 11 at 23:05

@gerrit: Yeah, quite a lot. But it's also used literally.
– Joshua
Nov 11 at 23:47

Incidentally, tigress is still in use.
– Joshua
Nov 11 at 20:16

@Joshua Isn't tigress mostly used metaphorically?
– gerrit
Nov 11 at 23:05

@gerrit: Yeah, quite a lot. But it's also used literally.
– Joshua
Nov 11 at 23:47

add a comment |

up vote
-1
down vote

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'

edited Nov 12 at 11:50

answered Nov 11 at 23:03

Sanjurjo7

153

add a comment |

up vote
-1
down vote

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'

edited Nov 12 at 11:50

answered Nov 11 at 23:03

Sanjurjo7

153

add a comment |

up vote
-1
down vote

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'

edited Nov 12 at 11:50

answered Nov 11 at 23:03

Sanjurjo7

153

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'

edited Nov 12 at 11:50

answered Nov 11 at 23:03

Sanjurjo7

153

edited Nov 12 at 11:50

answered Nov 11 at 23:03

Sanjurjo7

153

answered Nov 11 at 23:03

Sanjurjo7

153

answered Nov 11 at 23:03

Sanjurjo7

153

add a comment |

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