viscountess
/ˈvaɪkaʊntəs/ noun
Forms viscountesses V Vis. Visc. Visct Vtesse
- noun The wife of a viscount.
- noun A woman holding the rank of viscount in her own right. “Before his own elevation to an earldom, Disraeli's wife was created Viscountess Beaconsfield by Queen Victoria.”
Etymology
From Middle English viscountes, viscountesse, probably from Middle French viscontesse; equivalent to viscount + -ess. Doublet of vicomtesse.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [F. vicomtesse, LL. vicecomitissa.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “viscountess”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details