servauntesse

From servaunt (“servant, employee”) +‎ -esse (“-ess”). Compare modern English servantess.

• IPA^(key): /ˌsɛrvau̯nˈtɛs(ə)/, /ˈsɛrva(u̯)ntɛs(ə)/

servauntesse

1. (rare, Wycliffite Bible) A maidservant; a female servant.
   • c. 1382–1395, John Wycliffe [et al.], edited by Josiah Forshall and Frederic Madden, The Holy Bible, […], volume I, Oxford: At the University Press, published 1850, →OCLC, Ruth III:9, page 684, column 2:

     and he seide to hir, Who art thou? Sche answeride, Y am Ruth, thin handmayde; stretche forth thi cloth on thi seruauntesse, for thou art nyy of kyn.

     and he said to her, Who are you? She answered, I am Ruth, your handmaid; stretch forth your cloth on your servantess, for you are nigh of kin.

• “servauntesse, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.