A female Cockney; a woman from the East End of London with Cockney characteristics.
From 'Cockney' with the suffix '-ess' (indicating a female version). Follows patterns like 'actress,' 'waitress,' and 'lioness.'
The '-ess' suffix is becoming outdated in modern English—we now say 'female Cockney' or just 'Cockney'—but historical texts use this to specifically identify working-class East London women!
'-Ess' suffix (female marker) applied to 'Cockney' to denote female Cockney speakers/residents. Parallels male default 'Cockney'; adds explicit feminine marker only when gendering female speakers.
Use 'Cockney speaker' or 'Cockney resident' regardless of gender; the '-ess' suffix is unnecessary.
["Cockney speaker","Cockney resident","Cockney"]
Female Cockney speakers required a marked feminine form, reflecting the male-as-default bias in regional identity language.
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