feminism

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈfɛmɪnɪz(ə)m/ (UK)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French féminisme (1837),^[2][3][4] formed from feminine and -ism,^[2][5] ultimately from Latin fēmina (“woman”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The qualities of females: 1851.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

In biology and pathology, the development of female characteristics in a male is from 1875 in Etymonline, 1882 in the OED.^[2][4] The main modern sense, advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes, is from 1895, after the French.^[2][4] It also names the movement organized around this belief.^[6]

Timeline

• 1837 – féminisme in French.^[2]
• 1851 – the qualities of females.^[2][4]
• 1875 – female characteristics in a male.^[2]
• 1895 – advocacy of women's rights.^[2][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The belief that women should have the same social, political and economic rights as men.
2. The movement organized around this belief.

Word family

• feminist
• feministic
• antifeminism
• profeminism

Related words

• feminine
• femininity
• female

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin