Should we say “a notary,” “a notaryess,” or “Master” without gender distinction? This question often arises in letters, emails regarding inheritance, or polite formulas addressed to a notarial office. Three forms coexist in dictionaries, but their actual usage in the profession and in official correspondence diverges significantly.
Notary, notaryess, notaresse: comparative table of attested forms
| Form | Lexical source | Current status | Professional usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| a notary | Le Robert, official recommendations for feminization | Recommended form | Used by firms, directories, institutional websites |
| notaryess | Larousse, French Academy (9th edition), Wiktionary | Outdated or regional (Senegal) | Not used in professional correspondence in France |
| notaresse | Littré | Archaic | No contemporary usage |
The table highlights a gap between what dictionaries retain for historical reasons and what the profession recognizes. The term “notary” remains invariant in gender in current French professional practice. When seeking to understand the feminine form of notary, the most reliable answer comes from the notarial bodies themselves: directories and presentation pages of firms systematically refer to women holding this position as “notaries.”
Why “notaryess” has disappeared from common usage
The suffix “-ess” has long been used to form feminine nouns in French: “mistress,” “countess,” “doctress.” For legal job titles, this practice has declined over the 20th century.
Wiktionary notes that “notaryess” (attested in 1841) originally referred to the wife of a notary, not a woman practicing the profession. This semantic shift partly explains the rejection of the term by the professionals themselves.
The case of “notaryess” in Senegal
Wiktionary reports a living usage of “notaryess” in Senegal to refer to a female ministerial officer. This regional peculiarity is not found in European Francophonie or in Quebec, where “notary” is used for both genders.
“Notaryess” historically referred to the wife of a notary, not a practitioner of law. This ambiguity has contributed to its abandonment in France in favor of the invariant form.
Civility title and polite formula: “Master” for a female notary
In professional correspondence, the question of the feminine form of “notary” is accompanied by another query: should we write “Mistress”? The answer is no. The title “Master” remains invariant, whether addressing a man or a woman practicing the profession.
Professional practice guides confirm this standard for letters and emails. Here are the correct formulas according to the context:
- Letter or email header: “Master” followed by the last name, without gender mention (“Master Dupont”)
- Salutation: “Please accept, Master, the expression of my distinguished salutations”
- Postal address: “Master [First Name Last Name], Notary” or “Master [First Name Last Name], Office of [city]”
These usages apply equally to an inheritance as well as to a sale or any other procedure requiring correspondence with a notarial office.
When to use “Madam the notary”
In a less formal or oral context, “Madam the notary” is an accepted formulation. It combines gendered civility and the invariant job title. This formulation is correct and stylistically neutral.
In contrast, “Madam the notaryess” has no contemporary professional usage. Using it in official correspondence would be perceived as an error or an archaism.
Feminization of legal professions: notary among other titles
The treatment of the feminine form of “notary” is part of a broader movement for the feminization of job titles in French. Legal professions present varied situations:
- Lawyer / female lawyer: the marked feminine has entered common usage and official texts
- Judge: invariant in gender, like “notary”
- Bailiff / female bailiff: the feminine exists but remains infrequent, “bailiff” is often used without distinction
- Clerk / female clerk: common and undisputed feminine
Nouns ending in “-aire” (notary, commissioner, secretary) generally follow the rule of invariability: the article alone marks the gender (a notary, a notary). This morphological regularity simplifies the question for all these professions.
What term to use in an email or letter to a notarial office
For anyone writing an email to a female notary in the context of an inheritance, sale, or donation, the choice boils down to two reliable options.
The first: use “Master” in all circumstances. This is the safest formula, suitable for all formal correspondence. The second: use “Madam the notary” in an oral or semi-formal exchange.
No official text recommends “notaryess” in professional correspondence in France. Institutional notarial websites, professional directories, and legal writing guides converge on the same standard: “notary” in the feminine, “Master” as the civility title.
The verb “to address” a letter to a female notary does not pose any particular grammatical difficulty. The only precaution concerns the title: one writes “Master,” not “Mistress,” and “notary,” not “notaryess.”