dudess

noun

1. (dated)A female dude.

   “Of course that taint, that reverence for rank and title, had been in our American blood, too—I know that; but when I left America it had disappeared—at least to all intents and purposes. The remnant of it was restricted to the dudes and dudesses. When a disease has worked its way down to that level, it may fairly be said to be out of the system.”

   “Marge recently dressed Joanne Dru ranch style during the making of Howard Hawks' Red River. Miss Dru, in old-style calicoes and ginghams, felt grubby beside the dudes and dudesses who galloped over from near-by ranches […]”

2. (colloquial)A female dude.

   ““Sorry, dude,” I said. “Dispatch One, she's gonna call me?” / “Yo, the dudess,” he said, heading out the door.”

   “DEALING WITH DEFIANT DUDES (AND DUDESSES) [chapter title]”

   “Those smart dudes (and dudesses) on ESPN (and virtually every other channel, it seems) winning hundreds of thousands, or even millions, at Texas Hold 'Em, don't become legends because they're lucky, although that is an element of poker, as it is in life, that should never be discounted.”