Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Feminine

Fem′i-nine

,
Adj.
[L.
femininus
, fr.
femina
woman; prob. akin to L.
fetus
, or to Gr.
θῆσθαι
to suck,
θῆσαι
to suckle, Skr.
dhā
to suck; cf. AS.
fǣmme
woman, maid: cf. F.
féminin
. See
Fetus
.]
1.
Of or pertaining to a woman, or to women; characteristic of a woman; womanish; womanly.
Her letters are remarkably deficient in
feminine
ease and grace.
Macaulay.
2.
Having the qualities of a woman; becoming or appropriate to the female sex; as, in a good sense, modest, graceful, affectionate, confiding; or, in a bad sense, weak, nerveless, timid, pleasure-loving, effeminate.
Her heavenly form
Angelic, but more soft and
feminine
.
Milton.
Ninus being esteemed no man of war at all, but altogether
feminine
, and subject to ease and delicacy.
Sir W. Raleigh.
Syn. – See
Female
,
Adj.

Fem′i-nine

,
Noun.
1.
A woman.
[Obs. or Colloq.]
They guide the
feminines
toward the palace.
Hakluyt.
2.
(Gram.)
Any one of those words which are the appellations of females, or which have the terminations usually found in such words; as,
actress
,
songstress
,
abbess
,
executrix
.
There are but few true
feminines
in English.
Latham.

Webster 1828 Edition


Feminine

FEM'ININE

,
Adj.
[L. femininus, from femina, woman. The first syllable may be and probably is from wemb or womb, by the use of f for w; the b not being radical. The last part of the word is probably from man, quasi, femman, womb-man.]
1.
Pertaining to a woman, or to women, or to females; as the female sex.
2.
soft; tender; delicate.
Her heavenly form angelic, but more soft and feminine.
3.
Effeminate; destitute of manly qualities.
4.
In grammar, denoting the gender or words which signify females, or the terminations of such words. words are said to be of the feminine gender, when they denote females, or have the terminations proper to express females in any given language. Thus in L. dominus, a lord, is masculine; but domina, is mistress, a female.
Milton uses feminine as a noun, for female.

Definition 2024


feminine

feminine

See also: féminine

English

Alternative forms

  • (abbreviation, grammar): f.

Adjective

feminine (comparative more feminine, superlative most feminine)

  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 gender distinctions.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

feminine (plural feminines)

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

Translations


Latin

Etymology 1

From fēminīnus (feminine) + .

Pronunciation

Adverb

fēminīnē (comparable fēminīnius, superlative fēminīnissimē)

  1. femininely, womanly
Related terms

Etymology 2

Inflected form of fēminīnus (feminine).

Pronunciation

Adjective

fēminīne

  1. vocative masculine singular of fēminīnus

References


Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

feminine

  1. definite singular of feminin
  2. plural of feminin

Norwegian Nynorsk

Adjective

feminine

  1. definite singular of feminin
  2. plural of feminin

Romanian

Adjective

feminine

  1. feminine plural nominative of feminin
  2. feminine plural accusative of feminin
  3. neuter plural nominative of feminin
  4. neuter plural accusative of feminin

Swedish

Adjective

feminine

  1. absolute definite natural masculine form of feminin.