Oh, well then I do think you're right that there aren't any that are used that way now. Really, of the ones you mentioned, only "spinster" is used at all in modern parlance, and it's not used for that meaning.
"Seamstress" is not a new word, but it's the newer form of "seamster". Once "ster" ceased to be the ending for "woman who", and "ess" became more common for female jobs, it morphed.
I actually think in current parlance "ster" has a masculine connotation because of the ending of "mister". Kids use that ending to mean "expert at" sometimes, but without the female connotation at all.
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Date: 2006-08-25 07:10 pm (UTC)"Seamstress" is not a new word, but it's the newer form of "seamster". Once "ster" ceased to be the ending for "woman who", and "ess" became more common for female jobs, it morphed.
I actually think in current parlance "ster" has a masculine connotation because of the ending of "mister". Kids use that ending to mean "expert at" sometimes, but without the female connotation at all.