Question #5988   Submitted by Answiki on 03/01/2022 at 08:02:50 PM UTC

In French, what is the feminine of the word « professeur »?

Answer   Submitted by Answiki on 03/01/2022 at 08:06:17 PM UTC

In French, there are two feminine forms of the word professeur : la professeur, la professeure. Both are correct.


Historically, the French Academy recognized only the masculine form. In March 2019, the Academy issued a report in favor of feminizing job names. This is the reason why there are two spellings today. 


In reality, 4 feminine forms exist: the teacher, la professeur, la professeure, la professoresse et la professeuse. The last two are very little used today. 



The usage is moving towards the feminization « professeure », as shown in the graph above from Google Ngram. It can be seen that the feminization « professeure » has become the majority since the 90s, whereas previously, the masculine form was more used. 


When writing a formal document, it is still prudent to use the masculine form: la professeur, elle est professeur ...


In a literary context, the forms professoresse and professeuse can be interesting. 


2 events in history
Answer by Answiki on 03/01/2022 at 08:06:17 PM

In French, there are two feminine forms of the word professeur : la professeur, la professeure. Both are correct.


Historically, the French Academy recognized only the masculine form. In March 2019, the Academy issued a report in favor of feminizing job names. This is the reason why there are two spellings today. 


In reality, 4 feminine forms exist: the teacher, la professeur, la professeure, la professoresse et la professeuse. The last two are very little used today. 



The usage is moving towards the feminization « professeure », as shown in the graph above from Google Ngram. It can be seen that the feminization « professeure » has become the majority since the 90s, whereas previously, the masculine form was more used. 


When writing a formal document, it is still prudent to use the masculine form: la professeur, elle est professeur ...


In a literary context, the forms professoresse and professeuse can be interesting. 


Question by Answiki 03/01/2022 at 08:02:50 PM
In French, what is the feminine of the word « professeur »?
# ID Query URL Count
0 6690 https://en.ans.wiki/5988/in-french-what-is-the-feminine-of-the-word-professeur/ https://en.ans.wiki/5988/in-french-what-is-the-feminine-of-the-word-professeur 1

Icons proudly provided by Friconix.