Vampiress
/ˈvæm.paɪ.rəs/noun
A female vampire.
Did you know?The word is a relatively late English creation, and while the creature is old folklore, the feminine ending -ess is a much newer grammatical costume layered onto the vampire legend.
Etymological Timeline
Early 18th Century
German/Serbo-Croatian
vampir / vampir
“A corpse or revenant said to rise and feed on the living.”
1720s
French
vampire
“A blood-sucking undead being reported in Central and Eastern European folklore.”
Early 18th Century
English
vampire
“An undead creature believed to drain blood from the living.”
19th Century
English
vampiress
“A female vampire; a feminized literary and theatrical form.”
Modern English
English
vampiress
“A female vampire, especially in fiction, film, or fantasy.”