feminine
See also: féminine
EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle English feminine, femynyne, femynyn, from Old French feminin, feminine, from Latin fēminīnus, from fēmina (“woman”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-m̥h₁n-eh₂ (“(the one) nursing, breastfeeding”). Related to fetus, feminism, filial, fellatio.
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
feminine (comparative more feminine, superlative most feminine)
- Of or pertaining to the female gender; womanly.
- Of or pertaining to the female sex; biologically female, not male.
- Belonging to females; typically used by females.
- Mary, Elizabeth, and Edith are feminine names.
- Having the qualities stereotypically associated with women: nurturing, not aggressive.
- 1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
- Her heavenly form Angelic, but more soft and feminine.
- 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:
- Her letters are remarkably deficient in feminine ease and grace.
- 1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh], The Historie of the World […], London: […] William Stansby for Walter Burre, […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=1 to 5):
- Ninias being esteemed no man of warre at all, but altogether feminine, and subject to ease and delicacy.
- (grammar) Of, pertaining or belonging to the female grammatical gender, in languages that have gender distinctions.
- (of a noun) Being of the feminine class or grammatical gender, and inflected in that manner.
- (of another part of speech) Being inflected in agreement with a feminine noun.
- (grammar, Mongolic languages, of any word) Having the vowel harmony of a front vowel.
- Coordinate term: masculine
SynonymsEdit
- (of the female sex): female, womanly
- (having qualities stereotypical of the female gender): caring, ladylike, nurturing
AntonymsEdit
- (of the female sex): male, manly
- (having qualities stereotypical of the female gender): butch, masculine
- (grammar): masculine, neuter
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
of the female sex
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belonging to females
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having the qualities associated with women
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of the feminine grammatical gender distinction
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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NounEdit
feminine (plural feminines)
- That which is feminine.
- (rare, possibly obsolete) A woman.
- 1589, Richard Hakluyt, The Principall Navigations, Voiages, and Discoveries of the English Nation, […], London: […] George Bishop and Ralph Newberie, deputies to Christopher Barker, […], →OCLC:
- They guide the feminines toward the Pallace.
- (grammar) The feminine gender.
- (grammar) A word of the feminine gender.
- 1860, Robert Gordon Latham, An Elementary English Grammar: For the Use of Schools
- The different words belong to different systems, and are no more the masculines and feminines of one another
- 1860, Robert Gordon Latham, An Elementary English Grammar: For the Use of Schools
TranslationsEdit
that which is feminine
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woman — see woman
(grammar)
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a word of the feminine gender
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
GermanEdit
PronunciationEdit
Audio (file)
AdjectiveEdit
feminine
- inflection of feminin:
ItalianEdit
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
feminine
LatinEdit
Etymology 1Edit
From fēminīnus (“feminine”) + -ē.
PronunciationEdit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /feː.miˈniː.neː/, [feːmɪˈniːneː]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /fe.miˈni.ne/, [femiˈniːne]
AdverbEdit
fēminīnē (comparative fēminīnius, superlative fēminīnissimē)
Related termsEdit
Etymology 2Edit
Inflected form of fēminīnus (“feminine”).
PronunciationEdit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /feː.miˈniː.ne/, [feːmɪˈniːnɛ]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /fe.miˈni.ne/, [femiˈniːne]
AdjectiveEdit
fēminīne
ReferencesEdit
- “feminine”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- feminine in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
Middle EnglishEdit
AdjectiveEdit
feminine
- Alternative form of femynyne
Norwegian BokmålEdit
AdjectiveEdit
feminine
Norwegian NynorskEdit
AdjectiveEdit
feminine
RomanianEdit
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
feminine
SwedishEdit
AdjectiveEdit
feminine