male English · revision 2833

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1373|origins=la mās}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /meɪl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|male]],^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|male]], masle (modern mâle), adjective and noun,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la|masculus|t=masculine, male, worthy of a man]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) a diminutive of [[m|la|mās|t=a male person or animal]] (genitive maris),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) which is of uncertain origin.^(Barnhart 1988) Latin masculus is also the source of Spanish macho and Italian maschio,^(Etymonline) and of English [[masculine]].^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The noun, a male human being or animal, one of the sex that begets young: 1373 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) the late 14th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The adjective is from 1375 in the OED, at first in legal phrases such as ''heir male'';^(OED 1989) Barnhart's first example is from about 1378, in ''Piers Plowman''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Plants whose flowers have only stamens were called male from 1398.^(OED 1989) The mechanical sense, a part that fits inside a corresponding part, as in a ''male plug'', is from Boyle's writings in 1669, or the 1660s in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) “Consisting of men and boys” is by the 1680s,^(Etymonline) and “appropriate to men, masculine” by 1788.^(Etymonline) ''Male bonding'' is from 1969.^(Etymonline) Etymonline notes that ''male'', like ''female'', applies to the whole sex of humans and animals, while ''masculine'', like ''feminine'', applies to men and their qualities and to grammatical gender.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1373 – noun, a male.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1375 – adjective, in legal use.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1398 – of plants.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1669 – of a mechanical part.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1680s – consisting of men and boys.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1788 – appropriate to men.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1969 – ''male bonding''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of or belonging to the [[sex]] that produces [[sperm]] or other small cells that [[fertilize]] eggs.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Characteristic of or consisting of men or boys.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Of a plant or flower, having [[stamen|alt=stamens]] but no [[pistil]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Of a part, designed to fit into a corresponding hollow part: ''a male plug''.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A male person or animal; a man or boy.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A plant with only staminate flowers.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[maleness]]

+ * [[antimale]]

+ * [[intermale]]

+ * [[supermale]]

+ * [[male chauvinism]]

+ * [[male chauvinist]]

+ * [[male fern]]

+ * [[male menopause]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[masculine]]

+ * [[macho]]

+ * [[female]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Male'' categorizes by sex and applies to animals and plants as well as people.^(AHD)^(Etymonline) ''Masculine'' describes qualities thought typical of men.^(AHD)^(Etymonline) ''Manly'' and ''manful'' imply admired qualities such as courage, while ''mannish'' is used chiefly of women and is often disparaging.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}