Synonyms

freemartin

American

[free-mahr-tn] / ˈfriˌmɑr tn /

noun

a female calf that is born as a twin with a male and is sterile as a result of exposure to masculinizing hormones produced by the male.

freemartin British

/ ˈfriːˌmɑːtɪn /

noun

the female of a pair of twin calves of unlike sex that is imperfectly developed and sterile, probably due to the influence of the male hormones of its twin during development in the uterus

"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

Etymology

Origin of freemartin

First recorded in 1675–85; origin uncertain

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

freemartin

To sidewalk farmers, who suppose that a ridgeling is the peak in a barn roof and a freemartin a species of swallow,*some of Gus's outbuildings and his hog runs might well give the jimjams.

From Time Magazine Archive

“Most of our girls are freemartins, of course. I’m a freemartin myself.”

From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023