congresswoman

Word family

• congress
  nounB2
• congressional
  adjectiveB2
• congressman
  nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe people in government, but they differ in scope and specificity. 'Congresswoman' (and its counterpart 'congressman') refers specifically to an elected member of the US Congress, most often the House of Representatives — it carries both a political and a gender-specific meaning. 'Representative' is a broader term that can refer to any member of a legislative body, from local assemblies to national parliaments, and in the US it is also the official title for House members. 'Lawmaker' is the most general of the four; it highlights the function of creating laws and applies to any elected official who votes on legislation, regardless of chamber or country. 'Senator' denotes a member of a senate — in the US, the upper chamber of Congress — and differs from a congresswoman in both chamber and constituency size. For example: 'Congresswoman Kasia Patel introduced a bill in the House, while Senator Brian Kim debated the same bill in the Senate.'

Common collocations

Etymology

The word 'congresswoman' is a compound of 'congress' (from Latin 'congressus', meaning 'a coming together' — originally a meeting of envoys) and 'woman'. It was formed by analogy with 'congressman', which dates from the late 1700s after the founding of the US Congress. The feminine form 'congresswoman' gained common use in the early 20th century, when women such as Jeannette Rankin (1917) began serving in the House of Representatives and a clear gender-specific title became useful.