a suffix occurring in loanwords from French, forming feminine nouns corresponding to nouns ending in -eur: chanteuse.
[ -osa, fem. of -osus -OSE 1 ( > F -eux ); taken as fem. of -eur when this suffix had lost its final consonant (later restored) and was homonymous with -eux (hence, masc. -eu ( r ), fem. -euse, by analogy with -eux, -euse ) ]