Question

Identify the feminine form of the noun: Bachelor
a. Bachelorette
b. Bachelorra
c. Bacheloress
d. She-bachelor

Answer 1

Hint: Bachelor refers to an unmarried man who has never been married. The word bachelor has been derived from the Old French word- Bacheler.

Complete answer:
The feminine form of the word ‘bachelor’ is ‘bachelorette’. Although, we commonly refer to an unmarried woman as a ‘spinster’ but ‘bachelorette’ has become a more conventional term now. The term ‘bachelorette’ has been derived from a famous TV show ‘The Dating Game TV Show’, where the female contestants are referred to as ‘The Bachelorette’.
Let’s examine the given options:
Bachelorette- As described above, bachelorette is the most acceptable feminine form of bachelor. Hence, it is the correct answer.
Bachelorra- The word ‘bachelorra’ is not used in English language. Hence, it is an incorrect option.
Bacheloress- The word ‘bacheloress’ was originally used as the feminine noun of bachelor. But the use of suffix ‘ess’ was replaced by the suffix ‘ette’ to neutralize the terms that denote feminine nouns. Hence, it is an incorrect option.
She-bachelor- The word ‘she-bachelor’ is not used in English language. Hence, it is an incorrect option.

The correct answer is Option ‘a’.

Note: You can use spinster in casual conversations but bachelorette is a preferred term in formal conversations. ‘Bachelorette’ is a unique word and it does not follow the general English usage rules of determination of feminine forms of nouns.