Etymologically
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femininus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [feː.mɪˈniː.nʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [fe.miˈniː.nus][1]

Forms

fēminīnus (feminine fēminīna, neuter fēminīnum, adverb fēminīnē); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin fēmina (“woman”) + -īnus.[2][1][3][4] The noun goes back to Proto-Italic *fēmanā and Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-mh₁n-h₂- (“the one nursing”), an old middle participle of Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to nurse, suck”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first author is the comic poet Titinius, who has it of the shrill voice of a woman.[3][2][4]

Semantic evolution

Varro uses it in grammar, of blackbirds called by a feminine noun although there are males among them,[2][5] and Quintilian asks whether fūnis is masculine or feminine;[5][6] this grammatical sense is constant in Charisius and Priscian.[7] It also simply means female: Pliny the Elder says that salamanders have neither male nor female,[2] and the lawyers speak of the female sex and of a female person.[5] Pliny also uses it, beside masculīnus, for the lesser of two kinds of a plant.[2] Apuleius has women's shoes.[6]

Medieval Latin used it of female servants and of the female sex in general,[8] and in grammar, as in Aldhelm.[9] English feminine, from the mid-14th century, comes through Old French ⟨femenin⟩;[10] Etymonline notes that the Latin word was grammatical at first.[10] Italian has femminino.[6]

Timeline

  • end of the 2nd century BC – Titinius uses it of a woman's voice.[2][4]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of the feminine gender.[2][5]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of female animals and of the lesser kind of a plant.[2]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian discusses whether a noun is masculine or feminine.[5][6]
  • mid-14th century – English feminine is first recorded.[10]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. female.[2][5]
  2. Proper to or typical of a woman, womanly.[2][6]
  3. Of the lesser of two varieties of a plant or other natural thing.[2]
  4. (grammar) feminine.[2][5][1]

Word family

  • fēminīnē

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  8. ^ Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  9. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com