gentle sex

American  

Or gentler sex

noun

Older Use: Sometimes Offensive.

1. women in general (usually used facetiously).

   courtesy toward the gentle sex.

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Sensitive Note

This is a dated term, usually used for humorous effect but sometimes perceived as condescending to women. It makes reference to a stereotype of women’s basic nature, namely that women are gentle in comparison to men.

Etymology

Origin of gentle sex

First recorded in 1575–85

Example Sentences

As a lady's companion he is hard to beat; indeed, a glance at any show catalogue will prove that the majority of Borzois are owned by the gentle sex.

From Dogs and All about Them by Leighton, Robert

I fill this cup to one made up Of loveliness alone,— A woman, of her gentle sex The seeming paragon.

From The Golden Treasury of American Songs and Lyrics by Knowles, Frederic Lawrence

He is greater, and will be loved more hereafter by the gentle sex.

From Roundabout Papers by Thackeray, William Makepeace

Christina was gone, and the gentle sex was no longer represented in the monastery of Trooditissa.

From Cyprus, as I Saw It in 1879 by Baker, Samuel White, Sir

My fellow-voyagers were mostly French, some of them of the gentle sex, and chattered like pies until they fell asleep.

From Romantic Spain A Record of Personal Experiences (Vol. II) by O'Shea, John Augustus