Feminine

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈfÉ›mɪnɪn/, /ˈfÉ›mÉ™nɪn/

Alternative forms

• abbreviation, grammar: f.

Origin

From Old French feminin, from Latin fēminīnus, from fēmina ("woman"), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-m̥n-eh₂ ("who sucks"). Related to fetus, feminism, filial, fellatio.

Full definition of feminine

Adjective

1. Of or pertaining to the female gender; womanly.
2. Of or pertaining to the female sex; biologically female, not male.
3. Belonging to females; typically used by females.Mary, Elizabeth, and Edith are feminine names.
4. Having the qualities stereotypically associated with women: nurturing, not aggressive.
• John Milton:Her heavenly form Angelic, but more soft and feminine.
• Thomas Babington Macaulay:Her letters are remarkably deficient in feminine ease and grace.
• Sir Walter Raleigh:Ninus being esteemed no man of war at all, but altogether feminine, and subject to ease and delicacy.
5. (grammar) Of, pertaining or belonging to the female grammatical gender, in languages that have sex-based gender distinctions.

Synonyms

• of the female sex: female, womanly
• having qualities stereotypical of the female gender: caring, ladylike, nurturing

Antonyms

• of the female sex: male, manly
• having qualities stereotypical of the female gender: butch, masculine
• grammar: masculine, neuter

Derived terms

• femininely
• feminineness
• feminine rhyme prosody
• femininity
• feminize

Noun

1. That which is feminine.
2. (rare, possibly obsolete) A woman.
• Richard Hakluyt:They guide the feminines toward the palace.
3. (grammar) The feminine gender.
4. (grammar) A word of the feminine gender.
• Latham:There are but few true feminines in English.