pertaining to or characteristic of a man or men: masculine attire.
2.
having qualities traditionally ascribed to men, as strength and boldness.
3.
Grammar. noting or pertaining to the gender of Latin, Greek, German, French, Spanish, Hebrew, etc., which has among its members most nouns referring to males, as well as other nouns, as Spanish dedo, “finger,” German Bleistift, “pencil.”
4.
(of a woman) mannish.
–noun Grammar.
5.
the masculine gender.
6.
a noun or other element in or marking that gender.
[Origin: 1300–50; ME masculin < L masculīnus, equiv. to mascul(us) male (mās male + -culus-cule1) + -īnus-ine1]
c.1374, "belonging to the male sex," from O.Fr. masculin "of the male sex," from L. masculinus "male, of masculine gender," from masculus, dim. of mas (gen. maris) "male person, male," of unknown origin. Grammatical sense first recorded c.1380. Meaning "having the appropriate qualities of the male sex, manly, virile, powerful" is first attested 1629.
Male\, a. [F. m[^a]le, OF. masle, mascle, fr. L. masculus male, masculine, dim. of mas a male; possibly akin to E. man. Cf. Masculine, Marry, v. t.]1. Of or pertaining to the sex that begets or procreates young, or (in a wider sense) to the sex that produces spermatozoa, by which the ova are fertilized; not female; as, male organs. 2. (Bot.) Capable of producing fertilization, but not of bearing fruit; -- said of stamens and antheridia, and of the plants, or parts of plants, which bear them. 3. Suitable to the male sex; characteristic or suggestive of a male; masculine; as, male courage. 4. Consisting of males; as, a male choir. 5. (Mech.) Adapted for entering another corresponding piece (the female piece) which is hollow and which it fits; as, a male gauge, for gauging the size or shape of a hole; a male screw, etc. Male berry (Bot.), a kind of coffee. See Pea berry. Male fern (Bot.), a fern of the genus Aspidium (A. Filixmas), used in medicine as an anthelmintic, esp. against the tapeworm. Aspidium marginale in America, and A. athamanticum in South Africa, are used as good substitutes for the male fern in medical practice. See Female fern, under Female. Male rhyme, a rhyme in which only the last syllables agree, as laid, afraid, dismayed. See Female rhyme, under Female. Male screw (Mech.), a screw having threads upon its exterior which enter the grooves upon the inside of a corresponding nut or female screw. Male thread, the thread of a male screw.
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