avertress

English

Etymology

From averter +‎ -ess.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əˈvɜːtɹɪs/

Noun

avertress (plural avertresses)

1. A woman, girl, goddess, or other female agent who averts.
   • 1838: Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, “The Beacon — from The Agamemnon”, chorus (lines 35–39), page 259

     When ‛neath him yawned th’ expectant grave,
     

     Nor either parent dar’d to save,
     

     Tho’ hoary both, the life they gave,
     

     ‛Twas thine in youth to seek the tomb,
     

     Avertress of thy husband’s doom !

   • 1923: Swami Vijnanananda, The S’rimad Devi Bhagawatam, volume 1, chapter XIX: “On the going to the Svayamvara assembly of Sudars’ana”, verses 34–37 (links: [1], [2], [3], [4])

     O Son! Let Ambikâ Devî protect your front; Padmalochanâ protect your back; Pârvatî, your two sides; S’ivâ Devî, all around you; Vârâhî, in dreadful paths; Durgâ, in royal forts, Kâlikâ, in terrible fights; Parames’varî, in the platform hall; Mâtamgî, in the Svayamvara hall; Bhavanî, the Avertress of world, amidst the kings; Girijâ, in mountain passes; Chamundâ, in the sacrificial ground, and let the eternal Kâmagâ, protect you in the forests.

Anagrams

• traverses