# Profestrix

**URL:** <https://www.textkit.com/t/profestrix/10665>\
**Category:** Learning Latin\
**Created:** [October 1, 2011, 11:27pm UTC](https://www.textkit.com/t/profestrix/10665 "2011-10-01T23:27:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Lavrentivs](https://www.textkit.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/d9b06d/32.png) [@Lavrentivs](https://www.textkit.com/u/Lavrentivs)\
**Post date:** [October 1, 2011, 11:27pm UTC](https://www.textkit.com/t/profestrix/10665/1 "2011-10-01T23:27:55Z")

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I have thought that the feminine of professor would be profestrix, but just read in Allen & Greenough that »[m]asculines in -sor lack the feminine« (236 a n. 2). Does that imply that it is impossible to speak of a female professor in Latin?

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**Author:** ![adrianus](https://www.textkit.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@adrianus](https://www.textkit.com/u/adrianus)\
**Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 11:29am UTC](https://www.textkit.com/t/profestrix/10665/2 "2011-10-02T11:29:26Z")

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> [@Lavrentivs](#):
>
> Does that imply that it is impossible to speak of a female professor in Latin?

_Minimé. De professore feminino latinè loqui potes, etiamsi masculinum verbum professoris. Similiter neutri generis est verbum verbi at de masculinis, de femininis, de neutris verbis dicere potes._

No. You can talk about a female professor in Latin, although the word “professor” will be masculine, just as the word “word” in Latin is neuter but you can talk about masculine, feminine and neuter words.

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**Author:** ![Lavrentivs](https://www.textkit.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/d9b06d/32.png) [@Lavrentivs](https://www.textkit.com/u/Lavrentivs)\
**Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 11:45am UTC](https://www.textkit.com/t/profestrix/10665/3 "2011-10-02T11:45:45Z")

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Πάνυ μὲν οὖν. Pro quaetione imbecilla me excusatum habe.

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**Author:** ![Diaphanus](https://www.textkit.com/user_avatar/www.textkit.com/diaphanus/32/27_2.png) [@Diaphanus](https://www.textkit.com/u/Diaphanus)\
**Post date:** [January 28, 2012, 7:28pm UTC](https://www.textkit.com/t/profestrix/10665/4 "2012-01-28T19:28:14Z")

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> [@Lavrentivs](#):
>
> I have thought that the feminine of professor would be profestrix, but just read in Allen & Greenough that »[m]asculines in -sor lack the feminine« (236 a n. 2). Does that imply that it is impossible to speak of a female professor in Latin?

Not at all.

There is a difference between the lack of an attestation of a word and the impossibility of its existence. Unfortunately, there is a general feeling that one implies the other, but attestation is not everything. Since a Rule Saying There Cannot Be Such Words has not been presented, what A&G means by “lack” is that a feminine in _-trix_ corresponding to a masculine in _-sor_ was not used (or at least one cannot be found).

But, actually, A&G immediately mentions _expultrix_ and _tonstrix_, showing that most (not all) of the masculines lack a corresponding feminine!

So, although _profestrix_ was not used with _professor_, there is no rule saying that such a word could not be created and used if you needed it.