feminine English · revision 15038

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1350|origins=ine-pro *dhe(i)-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈfem.ɪ.nɪn/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|femynyn]], [[bor|fro|feminin]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[la|fēminīnus|t=feminine, at first in the grammatical sense]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from [[m|la|fēmina|t=woman, female]], literally “she who suckles”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*dhe(i)-|t=to suck]], the root also of [[m|la|fēlō|t=to suck]] and [[m|la|fīlius|t=son]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of grammatical gender: probably about 1350;^(Barnhart 1988) of the female sex, the mid-14th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Female, in Chaucer's House of Fame, is from about 1380.^(Barnhart 1988) Characteristic of women, womanly, is from the mid-15th century,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and womanish, effeminate, from about 1430.^(OED 1989) Feminine rhyme is a term of prosody from the 18th century.^(Hoad 1986) Trench notes that the modern distinction between feminine, womanly, and effeminate, womanish, is of fairly recent growth.^(Trench 1859) Femininity is from about 1390.^(Barnhart 1988) Feminism was formed in the mid-19th century.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1350 – feminine (grammar).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1380 – female.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1390 – femininity.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1430 – womanish.^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-15th century – womanly.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of or relating to women or girls; [[female]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Having qualities traditionally thought of as typical of women.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # [[effeminate|alt=Effeminate]]; womanish.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(grammar)'' Of the gender that includes most words for females.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(grammar)'' The feminine gender, or a word in it.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[femininely]]

+ * [[feminineness]]

+ * [[antifeminine]]

+ * [[femininity]]

+ * [[feminize]]

+ * [[hyperfeminine]]

+ * [[overfeminine]]

+ * [[pseudofeminine]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[female]]

+ * [[feminism]]

+ * [[fetus]]

+ * [[filial]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}