female - feminine - effeminate
- female - feminine - effeminate
◊ 'female'
Female means `relating to the sex that can have babies'. You can use
female as an adjective to talk about either people or animals.
...pay claims from female employees.
A female toad may lay 20,000 eggs each season.
You can also use
female as a noun, but only to talk about animals.
The male fertilizes the female's eggs.
He came upon a family of lions — a big male, a beautiful female, and two half grown cubs.
◊ 'feminine'
Feminine means `typical of women, rather than men'.
...a good, calm, reasonable and deeply feminine woman.
You do not use
feminine to talk about animals.
◊ 'effeminate'
Effeminate is only used to describe men and boys. People say that a man or boy is
effeminate if he behaves, looks, or sounds like a woman or girl. It is best not to use this word, as many people find it offensive.
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Useful english dictionary.
2012.
Look at other dictionaries:
female — femaleness, n. /fee mayl/, n. 1. a person bearing two X chromosomes in the cell nuclei and normally having a vagina, a uterus and ovaries, and developing at puberty a relatively rounded body and enlarged breasts, and retaining a beardless face; a … Universalium
female — fe•male [[t]ˈfi meɪl[/t]] n. 1) dvl a person of the sex whose cell nuclei contain twoXchromosomes and who is normally able to conceive and bear young; a girl or woman 2) dvl any organism of the sex or sexual phase that normally produces egg cells … From formal English to slang
female — n Female, woman, lady are comparable when meaning a person and especially an adult who belongs to the sex that is the counterpart of the male sex. Female (the correlative of male) emphasizes the idea of sex; it applies not only to human beings… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
feminine — mid 14c., of the female sex, from O.Fr. femenin (12c.) feminine, female; with feminine qualities, effeminate, from L. femininus feminine (in the grammatical sense at first), from femina woman, female, lit. she who suckles, from root of felare to… … Etymology dictionary
female — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) The female sex Nouns 1. female, womankind, womanhood, femininity, muliebrity; fair sex, weaker sex; feminist, suffragist (see choice); women s liberation or movement, feminism, NOW; mommy track. See… … English dictionary for students
feminine — femininely, adv. feminineness, n. /fem euh nin/, adj. 1. pertaining to a woman or girl: feminine beauty; feminine dress. 2. having qualities traditionally ascribed to women, as sensitivity or gentleness. 3. effeminate; womanish: a man with a… … Universalium
Feminine — Fem i*nine, a. [L. femininus, fr. femina woman; prob. akin to L. fetus, or to Gr. qh^sqai to suck, qh^sai to suckle, Skr. dh[=a] to suck; cf. AS. f[=ae]mme woman, maid: cf. F. f[ e]minin. See {Fetus}.] 1. Of or pertaining to a woman, or to women; … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Feminine rhyme — Feminine Fem i*nine, a. [L. femininus, fr. femina woman; prob. akin to L. fetus, or to Gr. qh^sqai to suck, qh^sai to suckle, Skr. dh[=a] to suck; cf. AS. f[=ae]mme woman, maid: cf. F. f[ e]minin. See {Fetus}.] 1. Of or pertaining to a woman, or… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
female — [fē′māl΄] adj. [ME, altered after MALE < femelle < OFr < L femella, dim. of femina, a woman < IE base * dhē , to suck, suckle > L felare, to suck, filius, son, fetus, progeny, Gr thēlazein, to suckle, thele, nipple] 1. designating… … English World dictionary
feminine — [fem′ə nin] adj. [ME < OFr < L femininus < femina, woman] 1. female; of women or girls 2. having qualities regarded as characteristic of women and girls, as gentleness, weakness, delicacy, or modesty 3. suitable to or characteristic of a … English World dictionary
