Definition of "peeress" []

• A noblewoman. (noun)
• A woman who holds a peerage by descent or appointment. (noun)
• A woman who holds a title by association, as the wife or widow of a peer. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Better have been admired as a governess than shunned as a peeress, which is what she will be."
• "She would then approach the Monarch, curtseying as low as possible "so as almost to kneel and the Queen kisses her on the forehead if she is a peeress or peer's daughter, or extends her hand to be kissed, if the lady is a commoner.""
• "The peeress or daughter of a peer received a kiss from Queen Victoria."