rectrix

English

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin rēctrīx (“one who directs”). By surface analysis, rector +‎ -trix.

Noun

rectrix (plural rectrices)

1. A governess; a rectoress.
2. A flight feather on the tails of birds, used for directional control.

Related terms

• rectricial

References

• “rectrix, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

Latin

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ-

Proto-Indo-European *-eti

Proto-Indo-European *h₃réǵeti

Proto-Italic *regō

Latin regō, rēctum

Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-ih₂

Proto-Indo-European *-trih₂

Proto-Italic *-trīks

Latin -trīx f

Latin rēctrīx

From regō, rēctum (“to rule”, verb) + -trīx f (“-ess”, agentive suffix).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈreːk.triːks]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈrɛk.triks]

Noun

rēctrīx f (genitive rēctrīcis, masculine rēctor); third declension

1. governess, directress
2. (New Latin) rectrix, steering-feather

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	rēctrīx	rēctrīcēs
genitive	rēctrīcis	rēctrīcum
dative	rēctrīcī	rēctrīcibus
accusative	rēctrīcem	rēctrīcēs
ablative	rēctrīce	rēctrīcibus
vocative	rēctrīx	rēctrīcēs

Descendants

• → English: rectrix
• → French: rectrice (learned)

References

• “rectrix”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• rectrix in Georges, Karl Ernst; Georges, Heinrich (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th edition, volume 2, Hahnsche Buchhandlung
• “rectrix”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press