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feminine

[ fem-uh-nin ]
/ ˈfɛm ə nɪn /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR feminine ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

noun Grammar.

the feminine gender.
a noun or other element in or marking that gender.

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Origin of feminine

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English femynyn(e), from Anglo-French, Old French: feminine of adjective feminin, from Latin fēminīnus, equivalent to fēmin(a) “woman” (see fetus) + -īnus -ine1

synonym study for feminine

2. See female.

OTHER WORDS FROM feminine

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH feminine

1. female, feminine (see synonym study at female)2. effeminate, effete, feminine , womanish, womanly (see synonym study at womanly)

Words nearby feminine

feme-sole trader, femic, femicide, feminacy, femineity, feminine, feminine caesura, feminine ending, feminine rhyme, femininity, femininity complex
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to feminine

ladylike, soft, tender, womanly, female, dainty, effeminate, womanish

Example sentences from the Web for feminine

British Dictionary definitions for feminine

feminine
/ (ˈfɛmɪnɪn) /

adjective

suitable to or characteristic of a womana feminine fashion
possessing qualities or characteristics considered typical of or appropriate to a woman
effeminate; womanish
grammar
  1. denoting or belonging to a gender of nouns, occurring in many inflected languages, that includes all kinds of referents as well as some female animate referents
  2. (as noun)German Zeit ``time'' and Ehe ``marriage'' are feminines

Derived forms of feminine

femininely, adverbfeminineness, noun

Word Origin for feminine

C14: from Latin fēminīnus, from fēmina woman
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012