mascularity

English

Etymology

From Latin masculus (“male, masculine”) +‎ -ar +‎ -ity.

Noun

mascularity (uncountable)

1. (rare) Synonym of masculinity
   • 1854, Elisha Kent Kane, chapter XLVI, in The U.S. Grinnell Expedition in Search of Sir John Franklin. A Personal Narrative, New York: Harper & Brothers, →OCLC, page 425:

     To some the unmentionables might savor of mascularity; but having seen something of a more polite society, my feminine associations are not restricted to petticoats

   • 1927, Elizabeth Bowen, “Valley”, in The Hotel, London: Jonathan Cape, published 1981, →ISBN, page 163:

     Now, suddenly, he sat bolt upright and began to hurl them one after another down the valley with a great effect of mascularity and science.

   • 1990, “Psychiatric Disorders During Adolescence”, in John Bancroft, June Machover Reinisch, editors, Adolescence and Puberty (The Kinsey Institute Series), New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 135:

     For boys, all the pubertal changes (such as growth of facial and body hair, breaking of voice, increased mascularity, and altered physique) tend to have unambiguously positive connotations, which are accompanied by positive self-perceptions.

Usage notes

• Not to be confused with muscularity.