proprietress

• proprietess
• proprietoress

From proprietor +‎ -ess.

proprietress (plural proprietresses)

1. (dated) A female proprietor.

   Synonyms: proprietrix, owneress

   • 1963 (date written), John Kennedy Toole, chapter 3, in A Confederacy of Dunces, London: Penguin Books, published 1980 (1981 printing), →ISBN, page 55:

     In addition, the proprietress is a Nazi. We barely escaped with our lives.