femina

See also: fémina

Esperanto

Etymology

From femino (“woman”) +‎ -a.

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /feˈmina/
• Hyphenation: fe‧min‧a
• Rhymes: -ina

Adjective

femina (accusative singular feminan, plural feminaj, accusative plural feminajn)

1. feminine (of women), women's

   Synonym: virina

Usage notes

Relatively uncommon; the synonym virina is generally used instead.

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Ido

Etymology

Borrowed from English feminine, French féminin, Italian femminile, Spanish femenino, from Latin fēminīnus from fēmina (“woman”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-m̥n-eh₂ (“who sucks”).

Adjective

femina

1. female, feminine

Antonyms

• maskula (“male, masculine”)

Derived terms

• femino (“female”)
• feminala (“female”)
• feminalo (“feminine gender”)
• feminismo (“feminism”)

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Interlingua

Noun

femina (plural feminas)

1. woman

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Latin

Etymology 1

From Proto-Italic *fēmanā, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-m̥h₁n-éh₂ (“(the one) nursing, breastfeeding”), the feminine mediopassive participle of *dʰeh₁(y)- (“to suck, suckle”). Related to fīlius, fellō, fētus.

Alternative forms

• foemina (Medieval Latin)

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈfeː.mi.na/, [ˈfeː.mɪ.n̪a]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈfe.mi.na/, [ˈfɛː.mi.na]

• Audio (Classical)

  (file)

Noun

fēmina f (genitive fēminae); first declension

1. woman
   • 19 BCE, Publius Vergilius Maro, Aeneid, I, 361-364.

     conveniunt, quibus aut odium crudele tyranni
     aut metus acer erat; navis, quae forte paratae,
     corripiunt, onerantque auro: portantur avari
     Pygmalionis opes pelago; dux femina facti.

     Those came together that either felt ruthless hate or bitter fear for their tyrant. They seized ships that had incidentally already been arranged and loaded them with gold. The treasures of avaricious Pygmalion were carried to the sea; the leader of the action was a woman.

2. wife
3. (of animals) female
   • 45 BCE, Marcus Tullius Cicero, De natura deorum, II, 128.

     nam primum aliae mares aliae feminae sunt, quod perpetuitatis causa machinata natura est, deinde partes corporis et ad procreandum et ad concipiendum aptissimae, et in mari et in femina commiscendorum corporum mirae libidines, cum autem in locis semen insedit rapit omnem fere cibum ad sese eoque saeptum fingit animal;

     (please add an English translation of this quote)

4. (grammar) the feminine gender

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	fēmina	fēminae
Genitive	fēminae	fēminārum
Dative	fēminae	fēminīs
Accusative	fēminam	fēminās
Ablative	fēminā	fēminīs
Vocative	fēmina	fēminae

Synonyms

• (woman): mulier
• (wife): uxor
• (grammar): genus femininum

Derived terms

• fēmella
• fēmellārius
• fēminātus
• fēmineus
• fēminīnē
• fēminīnus
• fēminō

 

Descendants

• Corsican: femina
• Dalmatian: femia
• Eastern Romance:
  • Aromanian: feamin
  • Romanian: famen
• Franco-Provençal: fèna
• Istriot: fimana
• Italian: femmina
• Neapolitan: femmena
• Old French: fame, fam, feme
  • Bourbonnais-Berrichon: fonne
  • Bourguignon: fanne, fonne
  • Champenois: fanme, fonme, fomme
  • Gallo: fame, fom
  • Lorrain: fomme
  • Middle French: femme
    • French: femme
      • Antillean Creole: fanm
      • Guianese Creole: fanm
      • Haitian Creole: fanm
      • Karipúna Creole French: fam
      • Louisiana Creole French: fam, fenm
      • Seychellois Creole: fanm
  • Norman: femme, fâme, faume, faumme, foume, fenme
  • Picard: fanme, féme, feume
  • Walloon: feme
  • → Middle English: femme, feme
    • English: femme, feme
• Old Leonese:
  • Asturian: fema
• Old Occitan: femna, feme
  • Catalan: fembra
  • Occitan: femna, hemna, frema
• Old Portuguese: femea, femẽa
  • Galician: femia
  • Portuguese: fêmea
    • Kabuverdianu: fémia
• Old Spanish: femna, fembra
  • Spanish: hembra
• Piedmontese: fumna
• Rhaeto-Romance:
  • Friulian: femine
  • Ladin: femena
  • Romansch: femna
• Sardinian: fémina
• Sicilian: fìmmina
• Venetian: fémena
• → Albanian: femër, femën
• → Spanish: fémina

Etymology 2

See femur.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈfe.mi.na/, [ˈfɛ.mɪ.n̪a]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈfe.mi.na/, [ˈfɛː.mi.na]

Noun

femina

1. nominative plural of femur
2. accusative plural of femur
3. vocative plural of femur

Etymology 3

Inflected form of feminō.

Verb

feminā

1. second-person singular present active imperative of feminō

References

• fēmĭna in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• femina in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• femina in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• fēmĭna in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette