female English · revision 3251

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1333|origins=ine-pro *dhe(i)-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈfiː.meɪl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|femele]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) [[bor|fro|femelle|t=woman, female]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la-med|femella|t=a female]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la|fēmella|t=young female, girl]], a diminutive of [[m|la|fēmina|t=woman]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(Barnhart 1988) literally “she who suckles”, from [[ine-pro|*dhe(i)-|t=to suck]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) The spelling female, first recorded in 1373, is an alteration by false association with the unrelated [[male]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)^(AHD 2000) which comes from Latin masculus.^(Cresswell 2021) It is related to [[feminine]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The noun, a woman, or a human being of the sex that bears young: before 1333,^(Barnhart 1988) the early 14th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Vulgar Latin the word was extended from young humans to the females of animals, and then to females generally.^(Etymonline) The adjective is from 1382, in the Wycliffe Bible,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and of animals from 1388.^(OED 1989) In botany a female flower has a pistil and no stamens, from 1796,^(OED 1989) and in mechanics a female part has a socket into which a male part fits, from the 1660s.^(Etymonline) Kipling's 1911 poem gave the saying ''the female of the species is more deadly than the male''.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline) In Dorset dialect ''female'' was said to be a word “of doubtful odour”.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1333 – noun, a woman.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1373 – the spelling female.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1382 – adjective.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1660s – of sockets in tools.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1796 – of flowers, pistillate.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1911 – “The Female of the Species”.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of the [[sex]] that can bear young or produce [[egg|alt=eggs]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Typical of or made up of women or girls.^(AHD)

+ # ''(botany)'' Of a plant or flower, having a [[pistil]] and producing fruit.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # Of a part, having a hollow into which a matching ''male'' part fits.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A female person, animal or plant.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A woman or girl.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[femaleness]]

+ * [[antifemale]]

+ * [[unfemale]]

+ * [[female circumcision]]

+ * [[female genital mutilation]]

+ * [[female impersonator]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[feminine]]

+ * [[feminism]]

+ * [[effeminate]]

+ * [[fetus]]

+ * [[fennel]]

+ * [[fecund]]

+ * [[male]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}