Draagsters

Draagsters is the feminine plural form of the Dutch noun draagster, meaning a woman who carries or bears something. The word is formed from dragen (to carry) with the agentive suffix -ster, and its masculine counterpart is drager (or draager), with the corresponding plural dragers (or draagers). In practice, dragen or dragen refers to the act of carrying, while draagster emphasizes the role of the person who carries.

In medical genetics, draagster is used to describe a woman who carries a genetic variant or mutation without necessarily showing symptoms. This usage is common in Dutch clinical, genetic counseling, and epidemiological contexts. A sentence might refer to a draagster of a recessive allele or to multiple draagsters in a family. In this context, the English equivalent is typically carrier (female).

Outside genetics, draagster is relatively uncommon in everyday modern Dutch for describing someone who physically carries a load. More general terms such as drager or draager, or context-specific words like portier or bezorger, may be used depending on the situation. When it does appear in non-genetic writing, it often sounds formal or technical and may be found in historical or procedural texts.

Summary: draagsters denotes female carriers or bearers, most often used in genetics to describe women who carry a mutation, while in general language the term is less common and the gendered masculine form dragers is more frequently encountered. The closest English equivalents are carrier (female) or bearer, depending on context.