feminine definition | Dictionary.com

fem⋅i⋅nine

[fem-uh-nin]

–adjective

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 feminine walk.

4.	belonging to the female sex; female: feminine staff members.

5.	Grammar. noting or pertaining to that one of the three genders of Latin, Greek, German, etc., or one of the two genders of French, Spanish, Hebrew, etc., having among its members most nouns referring to females, as well as other nouns, as Latin stella “star,” or German Zeit “time.”

–noun Grammar.

6.	the feminine gender.

7.	a noun or other element in or marking that gender.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME < AF, OF: fem. of feminin < L of fēminīnus, equiv. to fēmin(a) woman (see fetus ) + -īnus -ine ¹

Related forms:

fem⋅i⋅nine⋅ly, adverb

fem⋅i⋅nine⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
2. See female.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source

Link To feminine

fem·i·nine (fěm'ə-nĭn)

adj.

Of or relating to women or girls. See Synonyms at female.
Characterized by or possessing qualities generally attributed to a woman.
Effeminate; womanish.
Grammar Designating or belonging to the gender of words or grammatical forms that refer chiefly to females or to things classified as female.

n. Grammar

The feminine gender.
A word or form belonging to the feminine gender.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin fēminīnus, from fēmina, woman; see dhē(i)- in Indo-European roots.]
fem'i·nine·ly adv., fem'i·nine·ness n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

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; characteristic of a woman; womanish; womanly.

Her letters are remarkably deficient in feminine ease and grace. --Macaulay.

2. Having the qualities of a woman; becoming or appropriate to the female sex; as, in a good sense, modest, graceful, affectionate, confiding; or, in a bad sense, weak, nerveless, timid, pleasure-loving, effeminate.

Her heavenly form Angelic, but more soft and feminine. --Milton.

Ninus being esteemed no man of war at all, but altogether feminine, and subject to ease and delicacy. --Sir W. Raleigh.

Feminine

Fem"i*nine\, n. 1. A woman. [Obs. or Colloq.]

They guide the feminines toward the palace. --Hakluyt.

2. (Gram.) Any one of those words which are the appellations of females, or which have the terminations usually found in such words; as, actress, songstress, abbess, executrix.

There are but few true feminines in English. --Latham.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source

Language Translation for : feminine

Spanish: femenino,

German: weiblich,

Japanese: 女の

More Translations »

feminine

c.1384, "of the female sex," from O.Fr. feminin, from L. femininus "feminine" (in the grammatical sense at first), from femina "woman, female," lit. "she who suckles," from base of felare "to suck, suckle" (see fecund). Sense of "woman-like, proper to or characteristic of women" is recorded from c.1440. Feminism is from 1851, but meant at first "state of being feminine;" sense of "advocacy of women's rights" is 1895. Feminist is 1894, from Fr. féministe (1872).

Main Entry: fem·i·nine
Pronunciation: 'fem-&-n&n
Function: adjective
1 :

FEMALE

2 : characteristic of or appropriate or peculiar to women

Search another word or see feminine on Thesaurus | Reference

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Advertise with Us · Link to Us · NASCAR® · Contact Us