Bellanonna
That’s an odd one NanKate. I suppose we wouldn’t say doctoress in the medical profession, but we wouldn’t call a female a waiter. Mind you it’s often server now. We say author for both genders but I remember it being authoress for a female writer. It’s a bit inconsistent. Host/hostess?
Oddly, I don't mind 'waitress' and 'actress' so much, but really don't like most feminised descriptions of unisex activities or professions. 'Lady doctor' 'manageress' or 'barmaid' all sound different from the default male versions, as did 'policewoman' or stewardess' before they were phased out.
A friend of mine used to refer to a colleague as a 'woman engineer'. I think it was because someone had told him that saying 'lady doctor' was sexist, and he missed the point entirely, bless him
. I asked him why it mattered - I knew her name, and it wasn't unisex, so he could just have said 'Linda'. There was no difference between her job and his, and she was better qualified. He had no answer, but continued to call her Linda The Woman Engineer.